State finance ministers have asked the Centre to exclude coal from the list of proposed Goods and Services Tax GST,so as the tax rate does not increase on such an important fuel.
Besides,the empowered committee of state finance ministers has also said that opium,Indian hemp and other narcotics drugs could be kept out of GST list.
8220;After alcoholic liquor for human consumption,following may be added8211;coal,opium,Indian hemp and other narcotics drugs and narcotics but not including medicinal and toilet preparations containing these items,8221; empowered committee of state finance ministers said recently in a letter to union finance ministry.
Orissa government was building up a case to exclude coal from the GST list. It was talking to coal-bearing states like Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh for creating pressure to keep coal out of the purview of GST.