Reduce cess on petrol & diesel, not central excise duty: Chhattisgarh CM Baghel

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Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday asked the Centre to reduce the cess levied by it on petrol and diesel instead of slashing central excise duty.

Addressing a pre-budget meeting convened by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he contended that slashing of central excise duty on petrol and diesel will lead to a reduction in the state's share of taxes and also result in lower value added tax (VAT) collection. Baghel argued that instead of excise duty, the cess should be reduced. Cess is charged by the central government over and above the existing taxes. The Centre does not share cess with the government as it is utilised for the purpose it has been collected for.

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The Chhattisgarh chief minister also asked Sitharaman to reimburse to the state government an expenditure of Rs 15,000 crore on central security forces deployed for anti-naxal operations. He also urged the Centre for the payment of goods and services tax (GST) compensation and transferring of the amounts collected as 'additional levy' from coal block companies.

Baghel said the state's economy has been impacted due to disruption of economic activities during COVID-19 pandemic. He said the state government will be able to spend more on development programmes if the pending GST compensation is transferred by the Centre.

Baghel also urged the Union government to continue the GST compensation grant for another five years after June 2022. He said the Centre has not made any arrangements to compensate the loss of revenue of about Rs 5,000 crore to the state in the coming year.

Chhattisgarh received Rs 13,089 crore less than its actual share of central taxes in the Union budget over the last three years, he said. The chief minister also demanded that Rs 4,140 crore deposited with the Centre at the rate of Rs 294 per tonne on coal mining from coal block companies should be transferred to Chhattisgarh soon.

He said the share of the states should be cut down to 75 per cent by reducing the participation of the states in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission. He also demanded the establishment of International Cargo Terminal in Raipur, a campus of Central Tribal University and marketing centre under Vocal for Local Scheme in the Union budget.