Why energy should be in GST

Steep taxes on petrol and diesel add to the cost of economic activity and reduce the Indian economy's competitiveness. The two fuels must be brought under GST's purview

The teething troubles of the GST regime seem to be getting over now. The GST Council has been able to considerably reduce the number of items in the highest 28 per cent slab as anxiety on revenue collection has abated. The time has therefore come to extend GST to electricity, petrol and diesel. This is a major unfinished task in the transition to GST which should now be taken up, as energy is such a significant input through the entire chain of value addition.

Conceptually, there is no good reason for keeping energy out of the GST. However, getting a consensus