Petroleum goods might be included in GST if council members agree, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.
A brief about Petroleum Products Can Be Brought Under the GST if States Agree said by Nirmala Sitharaman
“The provision for incorporating petroleum products into the GST is already in place. My predecessor had already ordered that the window be kept open. After the states agree, petroleum products would be subject to GST as well. So it’s not so much about us not doing it as it is about the entire (GST) council saying ‘yes.’ “She stated.
She made the remarks in response to a query at a post-Budget interactive session of the industry group, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) here.
“Not simply yes…what they (council members) have to do is select a rate, and once they give me the rate, we incorporate it into the Tax,” she continued.
On February 18, the GST Council will have its 49th meeting in the national capital, which will be presided over by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In addition, she stated that the continuing push on infrastructure building through increased capex allocation is necessary to maintain India’s economic growth pace in 2023-24.
She stated that the central government is ensuring that public spending continues to rise in order to achieve the desired multiplier impact across all sectors.
“The momentum on growth should not be loosened or diluted; on the contrary, there should be a larger ascension for that growth that we want to continue at a good level,” she added.
For the third year in a row, capital investment spending is being hiked by 33% to 10 lakh crore, or 3.3 percent of GDP. This is nearly three times the amount spent in 2019-20.
Since 2015-16, the capex allocation has increased fourfold, from 2.5 lakh crore to 10 lakh crore (budget estimate for 2023-24).
“Over the last three or four years, there has been a persistent emphasis on public capital investment, such as in last year’s budget, and capital expenditure has increased by 30% in this year’s budget. This is the first time in many years that capital expenditure has exceeded $10,000, making it the clear emphasis of this budget “She went on to say.
Speaking about her Budget address, which was 87 minutes in total, she stated the objective was to keep it “clear and simple”.
Later in her speech, when discussing fiscal discipline, she stated that the administration is on track.
The fiscal deficit has continuously decreased, falling from 7.3% in 2020-21 to 5.9% in 2023-24. It was estimated to be 6.4% in 2022-23.
In her Budget speech, she reaffirmed the government’s objective to reduce the fiscal deficit to less than 4.5 percent of GDP by fiscal year 2025-26.
“I must thank the entire ministry for ensuring that the budget is fiscally reasonable while also being very clear on the aim that growth must be momentum,” she added.
