The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) today said it favours lower tax slab for natural gas to encourage its consumption in the country.
The oil & gas regulator has asked state governments to rationalise the existing tax structure, its Chairman L Mansingh said here.
"Taxes on natural gas vary from zero to 30-40 per cent. Zero per cent in Delhi, 20 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, while 30-40 per cent is the average taxation on natural gas in most of the states. We are strongly recommending the states to bring the gas under the lower tax slab to 4-5 per cent," he told reporters on the sidelines of a CII-organised seminar.
The state governments should consider reducing tax on natural gas as it is a non-polluting and efficient energy source, Mansingh said.
To a question on the gas reserves, he said there will be major discoveries in the country in the next seven years.
The deadline for the bidding for gas distribution in eight locations, which is currently underway, has been extended, the PNGRB chief said. "We have already invited bids for eight geographical areas. Bidding process is over. But, many potential bidders had requested to extend the time period and we are doing that."
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According to him, since the distribution covers large areas, it will require investments in the range of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore for each region.
Bidding process for Mallavaram-Bhopal-Bhilwara, Panipat-Bhatinda and Panipat-Jammu-Srinagar pipelines is over and they waiting for authorisation, Mansingh said.