GST On Biodiesel Reduced; No Decision on Petrol and Diesel Rates

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Friday that the GST rate on biodiesel, which is sold to oil marketing corporations for blending with diesel, will be reduced from 12% to 5%.

The council met in Lucknow for the first time in 20 months - the last meeting was on December 18, 2019. The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The topic of petrol and diesel was discussed, according to the FM. Several states have stated that they do not wish to be subject to the GST.

The Council was instructed to inform the Kerala High Court that the subject had been discussed. She went on to say that the Council did not believe it was the right moment to put gasoline and diesel under GST.

Following a Kerala High Court judgment, the Council was asked to include petroleum items in the GST. This motion was denied by the states. The Council has made the decision to submit a report to the court.

There will be no new tax on food delivery by platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy. GST will be charged to these aggregators. Customers will not be charged a new tax; the tax was formerly paid by eateries, but will now be paid by aggregators.

Given the country's soaring transportation fuel prices, the much-debated demand has been raised from many sides for quite some time. Covering gasoline and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would eliminate state levies on them, lowering prices dramatically.