The minister slammed the ‘simplified’ statement on prices, citing the provision of welfare schemes.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri Reiterating that the excise duty levied on petroleum products is providing free COVID-19 vaccines and funding public welfare schemes, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri on Friday said that till India Unless it does not vaccinate its entire population, global oil prices are likely to fall. A cut can be expected at that time.
Faced with several queries about higher retail prices for fuels by CERAVic at the concluding press conference of the India Energy Forum, Mr Puri said the Center is charging Rs 32 per liter as excise duty, even though the oil price is Rs. The price is $19 a barrel or $84. One barrel, while states charge ad valorem duty.
Emphasizing that oil prices have risen in the aftermath of the global coal crisis due to a “severe winter and a problem between the two countries”, the minister said the political narrative in India was “simplified” and there was a “hard cause” at work. ‘ I didn’t understand.
“I guess the simple political narrative in India – prices have gone up, why don’t you lower your taxes? So every time something else causes prices to go up, it says you’re on your feet in the process.” Let me ax it. I am not very sensitive to this kind of discussion.”
“Yesterday, we completed one billion vaccines being administered. We fed 90 crore people for a whole year, thrice a day. We do Ujjwala which is a social inclusion scheme that is weaning mothers, sisters and daughters away from the fuel of unhealthy cooking. We have distributed eight crore and one crore cylinders so far. So that the ₹32 tax we collect gives us the ability to provide all these welfare services including a billion vaccines,” Mr. Puri said.
Asked whether the government would cut petroleum taxes once the countrywide vaccination drive is completed, the minister said: “Oh man, till then the same price will come down man. Why do you think so long? (Until then, prices will drop anyway, mate. Why do you think so ahead)?
“I am completely optimistic. If you look at the analysis for 2022 from OPEC-Plus, supply is expected to exceed demand. Another question may arise at that time, which I do not want to say here.
However, to a follow-up question about the outlay on vaccines and free food grains, the minister said he had cited them as examples.
“It is not a question of arithmetic. It is the duty of any democratically elected government to build roads and provide other facilities for its citizens. If we are guided by this and shut everything down… It is also possible that they want to sell the oil and you do not need to take it at all,” he said.
“I can tell you that the government is paying full attention to it. We are in a federal system. There is an element of excise duty from the Centre, there is an ad valorem percentage duty by the states, whatever the cost,” he said.
States had turned down the idea of including petroleum products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime after the Kerala HC order about it in the recent GST Council meeting by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister said.
When asked by a Kolkata-based newspaper reporter whether tax cuts on fuel products would be considered to prevent adverse impact on growth, as higher quantum could help boost revenue, the minister said that High oil prices in West Bengal are due to the recent tax hike. State government.
“When I was there during a political meeting, I was asked why the prices have gone up, I said the state government has increased it by ₹3.51 from July and this is the result,” he said.
On India making a case for OPEC to lower oil prices, Mr Puri said it is not an adversarial issue and it is in the interest of oil producing and consuming countries. “It is my responsibility as a participant to tell you about the problems that may arise if you follow a particular path. We are not making a case. We have a sovereign right and we can do a lot ourselves,” he said.
Hitting out at the UPA government for issuing oil bonds to rein in oil prices during his tenure, Mr Puri said: “Petrol prices were controlled in 2010, it means you can control the world market. Prices are effectively up. Now to solve the problem one at a time, someone decided to issue oil bonds worth Rs 1,40,000 crore.