Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday proposed to impose an additional 10 percent tax on diesel engine vehicles in an attempt to reduce pollution. Addressing the 63rd Annual SIAM Convention in the national capital, Gadkari said that he will be writing a letter to the union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today evening on the same.
Terming diesel as a “hazardous” fuel, Gadkari noted that the country has to import the fuel to meet the demand. He also urged the industry to focus on environment-friendly alternative fuels like ethanol or green hydrogen.
“Say goodbye to diesel… Please stop making them, otherwise, we will just increase the tax so much that it would become difficult to sell diesel cars,” the minister said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
According to Gadkari, the contribution of diesel cars has already come down drastically in the country.
Apart from this, Gadkari also said that he would propose an additional GST on diesel-powered generators.
Earlier in May, a government panel recommended banning diesel-powered four-wheeler vehicles by 2027 and switching to electric and gas-fuelled vehicles.
“By 2030, no city buses should be added which are not electric…diesel buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards,” the panel had said in a report posted on the oil ministry’s website.
Meanwhile, carmakers including Maruti Suzuki India and Honda have already stopped manufacturing diesel cars.
Notably, automobiles are currently taxed at 28 percent GST with additional cess ranging from 1 percent to 22 percent depending on the type of vehicle; while SUVs have the highest GST rate of 28 percent with a compensation cess at 22 percent.
(With inputs from PTI)