In order to address the rising fuel prices in the country, the state and centre should talk and find a middle ground to bring down the fuel prices for the consumers, stated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She added the global price of crude oil are rising but there are taxes attached to these fuels which can be changed by the governments to provide relief to taxpayers in the country.
She said this while addressing a query during an event, the union minister said, "It's a vexatious issue in which no answer except for fall in fuel price will convince anyone. Both Centre & State should talk to bring down retail fuel prices at a reasonable level for consumers..."
She added that if the centre and states agree together then there is a way forward. She went on to add that it should not be structured in such a way that when the centre reduces rates, states increase taxes based on the reduction given by the centre. This will serve no purpose. There should be a joint effort to provide relief to the customers, stated the former defence minister.
To bring fuel under the goods and service tax, the states should be ready, she stated. She stated it would be interesting to see one rate across the country rather than the present structure of varied prices.
Today, the prices of petrol and diesel were up for the 12th consecutive day. Petrol price increased by 39 paise, while diesel was hiked by 37 paise in Delhi. So, petrol was priced at Rs 90.58 per litre and diesel at Rs Rs 80.97 per litre in the national capital.
In Mumbai, petrol price rose to Rs 97 per litre, and diesel was priced at Rs 88.60 per litre.
