New Delhi: The All India LPG Distributors Federation has appealed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on LPG Suraksha Hoses (LPG pipes) from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. In the run up to the two-day GST Council meeting that started today, the Federation had written to the Union minister

In the letter, the Federation had stressed that the LPG Suraksha Hose is not a luxury product but a mandatory safety component essential for transporting gas safely from cylinders to stoves. “As LPG is already under essential commodities and distributed under subsidy schemes to millions of families, imposing such a high GST on a safety accessory is contradictory to the government’s vision of “Ujjwala se Suraksha”,” the letter read.

Since August 2015, every household using LPG is required to replace these hoses periodically as per Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) guidelines. Currently, the 18 per cent GST rate makes these safety hoses costly for many families, especially economically weaker households, rural consumers, and beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), they argued.

According to the Federation’s President Chandra Prakash, lowering the GST to 5 per cent would not reduce tax revenue instead, it could increase it, as more consumers would purchase authorized BIS-approved hoses rather than cheaper, unsafe alternatives from the open market.

“We assured you that total GST on Suraksha hose will also increase because now a days majority consumers purchasing substandard LPG pipe-Suraksha Hose from open unauthorized market hence loss of GST revenue. We assured yourself that LPG user will buy from oil companies authorized channels partners if GST reduces to 5 per cent instead of 18 per cent,” the letter read.

“This small fiscal step will have a large social impact by strengthening household safety and supporting the government’s vision of Har Ghar Surakshit LPG,” Prakash said in the letter. The two-day meeting, being held on September 3 and 4, is expected to bring significant changes to India’s indirect tax structure, with discussions centred around rationalising and reducing the number of GST slabs.

In the Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced upcoming next-gen GST reforms before Diwali so as to benefit consumers, small industries and MSMEs.