Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur on Monday said both the Centre and the States need to think about reducing taxes on petrol and diesel as their prices have risen sharply in the recent weeks.

Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Mr Thakur also said that the government was ready to discuss the issue of bringing petroleum products under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

“The Centre is ready to consider the idea of reducing the tax on petrol and diesel, the states should also consider it,” he said.

The Centre levies excise duty on petrol and diesel, while the States levy VAT.

“The state governments should reduce taxes on petrol, we (the Centre) will also try to reduce tax on petrol.

“Both the Centre and the States need to think about it (reducing taxes on petrol),” the minister said.

Mr Thakur also pointed out that in March 2020, the price of crude oil was around USD 19 per barrel. AT present, the price of crude oil is around USD 65 per barrel.

On why the government was not bringing petroleum products under GST as promised by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Mr Thakur said no State has so far given a proposal for the same.

“If any State feels that petroleum products should be brought under GST then the Centre has no objection in discussing about it,” he said.

Last month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said the Centre and the States should talk to each other and look for a “coordinated action” to reduce taxes on diesel and petrol.