Jayakumar says fuel will not be under GST

Returning here after attending the 28th GST council meeting held in New Delhi, Jayakumar while addressing reporters said that in the GST meet many of the demands of Tamil Nadu were met and taxes were reduced and waivered for most products.

So far, the GST rates had  been reduced for 457 goods and 67 were from Tamil Nadu.  However, the state government is demanding reduction in tax rates and tax waivers for 45 more products and nine services in the state.

When asked about one of the demands of the lorry owners, who are in strike, about bringing fuel under the purview of the GST, Jayakumar replied that no state had insisted the demand in the GST council meeting because they would lose their revenue. He also said that former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, too took a similar stand.

On Kamal Haasan’s, comments that the state Ministers are seeking publicity by talking about him, Jayakumar replied that they are not in need of publicity as they are already elected representatives. “The only good thing Kamal did was to take the ‘Hugging Treatment’ (Kattipudi Vaidhyam) to New Delhi,” he said referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside the Parliament.