No oil cess: Finance Ministry

[N.Sukumar]

New Delhi, May 28: The Finance Ministry on Wednesday said reports
about certain new tax proposals to offset oil marketing Companies'
under recoveries due to rising global crude prices are totally
"baseless" and "speculative" in nature.

"Attention of the Ministry of Finance has been drawn to the reports
appearing in a section of media following a routine meeting between
the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Finance Minister.
The reports are largely speculative and in particular, reports about
certain new tax proposals are totally baseless," an official statement
said.

Various reports in a section of the media after the meeting on Tuesday
had said that Government is mulling a cess on income tax to fund oil
subsidy. The government may also reduce customs and excise duties,
besides increasing prices of petrol and diesel and issuing oil bonds,
the reports had said.

"Ministry of Finance points out that no body from the Ministry had
briefed the media," the statement said.

N.Sukumar
Research Analyst