Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has opposed bringing petrol and diesel prices under the GST, as this would affect the state’s revenues, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar has said.
“This was a condition laid down by Amma (late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, as the state has limited resources. Brining petrol, diesel and liquor meant for human consumption under the GST will drastically affect the state’s fiscal autonomy. Hence, it should not be brought,” he said.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, he said the former CM’s view on the state’s fiscal autonomy getting affected if the fuel is brought under the GST regime, was accepted by all the states then. “We will strongly object any such move to bring fuel prices under GST,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) says there has been huge loss in exports owing to the ongoing truckers’ strike. According to FIEO Regional Chairman A. Sakthivel due to the continuous strike, exporters are put in serious trouble as more than Rs 5000 Crore worth of goods is lying in factories pending for dispatch due to lorry strike. Many factories also have been reported shortage of raw materials for running the factories, he claimed.
He said due to uncertainty on end of lorry strike, several factories are in the verge of declaring layoffs which will not only effect India's export earnings, but also results in unemployment which will have serious impact on economy. The regional chairman also requested for urgent intervention of Union Commerce & Industry Minister as well as Union Textile Minister for resolving this serious issue.
