The Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has recommended state governments to rationalise the tax structure for natural gas to encourage consumption, according to its Chairman L Mansingh.
“Taxation on natural gas in the country today varies from zero per cent in Delhi to 20 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. And, 30-40 per cent is the average taxation on natural gas in most of the states. What we strongly recommend to state governments is to bring the gas under a lower tax slab ... to four-five per cent,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry-organised conference on natural gas here today.
Replying to a query on reserves, he said there would be major discoveries in the country in the next few years.
“The deadline for the bidding for gas distribution, which is currently on, has been extended. We have already invited bids for eight geographical areas. However, many potential bidders have requested to extend the time period and we are doing that, as it requires investments of between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore for each geographical area,” he said.
Stating that the bidding process for Mallavaram-Bhopal-Bhilwara, Panipat-Bhatinda and Panipat-Jammu-Srinagar pipelines was over and awaiting authorisation, which is expected shortly, Mansingh said each pipeline would get 36 months of implementation period from the date of authorisation, failing which a penalty would be imposed.
