New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government drawing flak over the skyrocketing fuel prices, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday termed it to be a “vexatious issue” and said both the Centre and state governments must hold talks to bring retail rates to a reasonable level for the consumers.
“I know I am treading on an area and whatever I may say, to bring in the reality into picture, will only sound like I am obfuscating,” Sitharaman told the media in the national capital.
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“Because Indians being Indians, and I am one of them, we’ll immediately stand up and say, all this is apart, are you reducing the price today or not?” she added while coming to the defence of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.
Asserting the government has no control over oil prices, the Finance Minister put the ball in the court of the oil marketing companies.
“It is oil marketing companies who have to say whether they want to cut it down or raise it… It is the oil marketing companies which import the crude, refine, distribute it and even put the cost for logistics,” Sitharaman said.
Stating the states levy VAT, which help them get more revenue whenever prices go up, Sitharaman said: “I can do that (cut taxes) if I have a certain guarantee that my revenue foregone will not be an opportunity for somebody else to get into this space and gain that.”
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“If all of us are talking about consumer prices (on fuel to) come down (and the) tax raised by the Centre, tax raised by the states are not holier than one another.” The taxes by centre and states equal,” PTI quoted her as saying.
Responding to a poser on whether bringing fuel prices under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) would be an answer to the present situation, the Finance Minister replied in the affirmative but added there needs to be a “thorough discussion in the GST Council” (comprising Centre and the states) for the same.
Sitharaman further said there can be one fuel price all over the country if the GST Council agrees on one rate.
The Finance Minister’s statement comes as the fuel prices witnessed a hike for the twelfth consecutive day on Saturday. According to reports, petrol prices in Delhi rose to Rs 90.58 per litre while diesel prices in the national capital increased to Rs 80.97 per litre. Petrol prices in Mumbai surpassed the Rs 97 per litre while diesel soared to Rs 87.06 per litre.
