VIJAYAWADA: Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has opposed the move to bring natural gas into the GST ambit. Referring to reports in a section of the Press following a statement issued by the GST Council Secretary that there is a consensus among states over bringing natural gas under the purview of GST, Yanamala said it is not correct. The proposal was not even circulated to the states by the Council so far, he added.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Minister said Andhra Pradesh earned a revenue of Rs 523 crore through sale of natural gas in the year 2017-18. “Being a producer of natural gas, our state will lose a substantial revenue as our ultimate consumption will be less than the production,’’ he said.
Stating that the State had already lost autonomy in raising fiscal resources with the introduction of GST, he said the inclusion of natural gas in GST will further affect the State’s revenue position and added that Andhra Pradesh opposes introduction of other petroleum products in the GST as it would lose substantially in terms of revenue.He further observed that the GST Council had issued its statement without any decision taken up by it on the issue. Such reports were creating confusion in the minds of traders and other taxpayers as they were getting the impression that they were the decisions of the GST Council, he added.