Question : PRICES OF DIESEL AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

(a) whether the Government propose to reduce the rates of taxes fixed by the Government so as to decrease the prices of diesel and other petroleum products;

(b) if so, the levels at which the tax is recovered in the petroleum sector alongwith the type of tax and the rate thereof;

(c) whether the rates proposed for tax assessment in this sector were also sent by the Government to tax assessing authorities; and

(d) if so, the details of rates thereof and the extent to which the rates of petrol and diesel in the country are likely to be decreased on the basis of proposed tax rates?

MININSTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

( SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR )

(a) to (d): In the Union Budget presented in Parliament on 29.2.2000 the basic customs duty has been revised as under:

1.	Crude Oil	20% to 15%
2. Motor Spirit,
High Speed Diesel,
Aviation Turbine Fuel,
Light Diesel Oil,
Furnace Oil,	30% to 25%
Bitumen,
Low Sulpher Heavy Stock.
3.	Kerosene (Parallel	30% to 35%	Marketing Scheme)