The minister plans to propose imposing an additional 10% GST on diesel engine vehicles
This comes at a time when India is pushing harder for greener and cleaner mobility
Gadkari said that diesel is a hazardous fuel and India is a huge importer of it
"Say goodbye to diesel. Please stop making them, otherwise, we will just increase the tax," he told PTI
Soof after, he clarified that there is no such proposal currently under active consideration by the govt
Currently, automobiles in India are taxed with 28% GST along with additional cess
The cess ranges from one per cent to 22%, depending on the vehicle type
SUVs currently attract the highest cess of 22% along with 28% GTS, amounting to 50% of total tax incidence
Addition 10% tax on diesel vehicles would mean diesel SUVs would get 60% total tax incidence
Further, price of diesel motor fuel is also quite high at ₹89.62 in Delhi on September 12, 2023
Also, diesel cars in Delhi only have a legal life of 10 years