Further noting that diesel a highly hazardous fuel and makes the country dependent on imports, he adds, “Say goodbye to diesel… Please stop making them, otherwise we will just increase the tax so much that it would become difficult to sell diesel cars” Gadkari said. The comment did not go well for the automakers where the demand has shifted towards bigger utility vehicles like SUVs that are many a times run on diesel. Commercial and bigger utility vehicles are largely run on diesel, meanwhile, some industrial machines and engines such as generators also use diesel. Automobiles are currently taxed at 28 per cent GST, with additional cess ranging from 1 per cent to 22 per cent depending on the type of vehicle. SUVs attract the highest GST at the rate of 28 per cent along with a compensation cess at 22 per cent.

Source: Mint September 12, 2023 12:38 UTC