Kerala High Court Seeks Statement from GST Council on Petrol and Diesel

The Kerala High Court sought the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to exclude petrol and diesel from GST. The advocate on behalf of the petitioner, Kerala Pradesh Gandhi Darshanvedhi, stated that due to different tax rates levied by the State governments under their fragment taxing policies. This scenario is leading to different pricing of petrol and diesel across the country.

The Court was adjudicating upon the decision of the Council on excluding petrol and diesel from GST. The petitioner stated that this was an obstruction in achieving a harmonized national market as explained under Article 279 of the Constitution. The petitioner submitted that an increase in petrol and diesel prices led to a hike in transportation fares, thereby causing many problems for the people. 

The petitioner argued that this situation would further lead to a price hike in essential commodities, thereby increasing the cost of living. It was further contended that the unusual hike in petrol and diesel prices pushes the public into immense hardship. Also, this led to the violation of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. 

The division bench consisted of Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly, and they gave the GST council a time of ten days to file a statement. The Council may refer to its last meeting minutes to respond to this query as it recorded all the states’ opinions on excluding petrol and diesel from GST.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at dvsr.anjaneyulu@cleartax.in