Asked Finance Ministry to halve ad valorem cess, says Dharmendra Pradhan

We have asked finance ministry to reduce ad valorem cess to 10% from 20%, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Zee Business.

He said that the prices of crude oil have increased in the past few days and because of which the 20% ad valorem cess on upstream oil companies must be rethought. He said that his ministry has written to finance ministry to reduce this cess to 10%.

Talking about the various updates in the oil sector, he said that the government is fully prepared with the new revenue sharing model. He said, “The government will launch roadshows across the country to auction 59 oil blocks. Companies from India and overseas will get a chance to work in India,” he said.

Talking about the subsidy sharing model, Pradhan said that some tweaking in the existing norms is possible. However, he said that the increase in excise duty on oil hasn’t had any impact on the margins of oil marketing companies.

He further said that one crore Indians have given up on their LPG subsidy and the government is planning to give 5 crore gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme.

Check share prices of oil marketing companies here.