GST should be imposed on renewable equipment imports: Goyal

Power Ministry is not pitching for keeping renewable energy equipment out of the purview of proposed GST but wants a level-playing field for domestic manufactures, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said.

"Ideally we should put GST (rate) on imports so that it becomes a level-playing field and domestic manufacturing are not at disadvantage. Today there is an inverted (duty) structure. Domestic (manufacturers) are paying more taxes than imports," Goyal, the Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister, said.

He was replying to a query whether the Power Ministry has proposed to keep renewable energy equipment out of the GST regime.

The proposed Goods and Services Tax law, which seeks to subsumes all central and state levies including excise, service tax and sales tax, is stuck in the Rajya Sabha.

Speaking on the idea of keeping the renewables out of GST, Goyal said, "Some manufacturing people did talk to me. I don't think we should keep it out of GST. My approach is different.

Related stories

Piyush Goyal

Minister of Railways & Coal|Government of India

• 
  Commercial coal mining will help increase efficiency & productivity, says Piyush Goyal
• 
  Budget 2018: Govt has focused on good governance & good economics, says Piyush Goyal
• 
  Davos 2018: Pace of reforms in India encouraging to investors, says Piyush Goyal

We have to create a level-playing field. So, GST (rate) should be on imports (of renewable)." Asked whether his ministry has made any proposal over the same, he said, "To the best of my remembrance, I don't think I would have asked for something like that. I believe that we should keep minimum distortion in the GST regime." Pitching for passage of the GST bill, the minister suggested that there is a need to build a pressure so that the GST is cleared in this Monsoon session of Parliament beginning on July 18, 2016.