In a release here, COSIA President M R Khambete said "The recent sharp hike in the rates of petroleum products has caused anguish everywhere. This has hit the industry, particularly MSMEs, hard and affected their competitiveness.
The Union Government has passed the buck to the states, some of whom have reduced sales tax or VAT on these articles to soften the burden."
"But the agony persists due to keeping petroleum Products outside the VAT to recover more revenue. It is unfortunate that the Centre also wants to keep these products outside the proposed GST which is amply clear from the Bill introduced in Parliament to carve GST path. Unless all the petroleum products are covered under VAT system, its taxation will be very high," he said.
"To provide a meaningful relief to the common men, coverage of petroleum products under VAT and proposed GST (goods and services tax) is essential," Khambete said.