Centre-state talks must to lower taxes on fuel: Finance minister

AHMEDABAD: As skyrocketing fuel prices hit consumers, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday underlined the need for negotiations between the Union government and states to chart a path to reducing tax on fuel.
Sitharaman termed the issue a major dilemma (‘Dharam Sankat’) for the Centre, while responding to a question during a session organised by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).
“It is a major dilemma to commit a specific time frame to lower taxes on fuel. It is not just the cess, but also excise duty imposed by the Centre and then each state has imposed VAT . We can bicker about who earns more. But there is a revenue consideration for both, Centre and the States,” said Sitharaman, responding to a question on when the Centre is expected to reduce the cess on the fuels.