Bring natural gas under GST for PM’s vision of gas-based economy: Industry

The government should bring natural gas under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a gas-based economy and raising the share of the environment-friendly fuel in India’s energy basket, an industry body that represents the likes of Reliance Industries as well state-owned firms, has said.

Natural gas is currently outside the ambit of GST, and existing legacy taxes — central excise duty, state VAT, central sales tax — continue to be applicable on the fuel.

In its pre-Budget memorandum to the finance ministry, Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI), which boasts of members from across the oil and gas spectrum,