Import Tax on LNG Halved by the Government to Save Rupees Nine Thousand Crore for Consuming Industries
The decision of the government to halve import tax on LNG in order to promote use of cleaner fuel will lead to Rs 900 crore for gas-consuming industries. Arun Jaitley, the Finance Minister of India recently stated in the budget that import duty on LNG will be reduced to 2.5 percent from 5 percent and this move is expected to significantly help different industries starting from fertiliser units to petrochemical plants.
Oil ministry sources stated that such a move would definitely help in achieving the aim of increasing natural gas share in the country’s energy mix to fifteen percent by the year 2020 from the present, 6.5 percent.
The priority of the government is to increase natural gas usage in overall primary energy mix to promote a gas-based economy. Since domestic gas has limited availability, there has been an increase in LNG import in the country. The oil ministry also stated that LNG import is allowed under OGL (Open General License) scheme and prices depend on the scenario of international market demand supply.