India set to exclude petroleum products from proposed GST

Crude oil and petroleum products such as motor spirit, aviation turbine fuel and high-speed diesel won’t be included in India’s proposed goods and services tax (GST), the Business Standard reported on its website, citing a senior finance ministry official. Another top official in the ministry confirmed that petroleum would be outside the purview of GST. A task force set up by the Thirteenth Finance Commission in December 2010 recommended that emission fuels, alcohol and tobacco be subject to a dual levy of GST and excise without any credit of the excise component. For industrial fuels, the task force had suggested that such fuels be subject to GST only. (April 14, 2010)