Union Minister Nitin Gadkari urged the state finance ministers to reconsider reducing the GST on flex-fuel vehicles to 12 percent. During the India Bio-Energy & Tech Expo held by the IFGE, he stressed the need to reduce the importation of fossil fuels and promote biofuels.
Gadkari appealed to the finance ministers of states to participate in the discussions related to the GST implications for reducing flex-fuel engine cars. He mentioned Maharashtra’s finance minister for the same. Such vehicles are dual-fuel vehicles that can run on different types of fuel and usually use a mixture of petrol and alcohol, such as ethanol or methanol.
It also contacted Uttar Pradesh, where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offered support for further analyzing the prospects of lowering taxes on flex-fuel vehicles. The political leadership then required the Minister to call a separate meeting with the Minister of Maharashtra Finance, Ajit Pawar. Gadkari proposed attending the forthcoming GST meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to resolve the issue.
Emphasizing the economic aspect of the issue, Gadkari said that India spends about ₹22 lakh crore a year on importing fossil fuels and on their negative effects on the environment and the economy. He said he believed that the push for biofuels would decrease these imports and greatly boost the agriculture sector.
There is a great potential in the biofuel sector,’ said Gadkari while stressing the government’s focus on developing environment-friendly energy sources.
