FM Nirmala Sitharaman admits fuel price ‘dharamsankat’

The finance minister said she understood the need of consumers “but in this case, there is a ‘condition of direness’ in front of the government”. She said the only way to find a solution to this problem was for the Centre and the states to hold a dialogue. “So, there is an issue which is layered and as a result that has to be a matter ideally for the Centre and the states to talk about,” she added.

Sitharaman had increased central excise duty on petrol and diesel by a record margin last year to mop up gains arising from international oil prices plunging to a two-decade low.

On the issue of bringing petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, which will end the cascading impact of taxes and bring uniformity, the finance minister said the call has to be taken by the GST Council, the apex decision making body of the indirect tax regime.