Petroleum ministry says it supports including natural gas under GST

India’s petroleum ministry said on Wednesday it “supported” the view that natural gas should be brought under the goods and services tax (GST), reacting after global energy industry major BP Plc called for it.

Petrol, diesel, jet fuel, crude oil and natural gas fall outside the GST ambit, but several industry groups want gas to come under the indirect tax regime.

“This is a decision that has to be taken by the GST council. There is a request from the industry and the ministry of petroleum and natural gas supports that request. The reason for this is that gas can be transported seamlessly across states and we will manage to develop one market for the gas,” Tarun Kapoor, secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told the media at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek.