For several years, it has been a demand of trade unions of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) to bring diesel under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax on grounds that it could pull the transport juggernaut out of losses given the high percentage of Value Added Tax (VAT). A Right to Information (RTI) request showed that the TSRTC has been paying to the government approximately ₹ 300 crore annually as VAT.
According to M Nageshwara Rao, a senior union leader and former board director of the RTC in united Andhra Pradesh, the corporation has been paying VAT on diesel which amounts to over ₹ 300 crore. He pointed out that the TSRTC procures between 5.5 lakh and 6 lakh litres a day, which is a large quantity.
Information received after Mr Rao filed an RTI request showed that in FY 2015-16 the VAT that the TSRTC paid to the government stood at ₹ 224.91 crore. This figure rose to ₹ 255.12 crore the next year, and to ₹ 275.65 crore in the subsequent year. In 2018-19, the VAT paid was ₹ 292.43 crore. Mr Rao said that he is yet to receive information for FYs 2019-20 to 2021-2022, but given that the bus services are back to normal, the VAT payments are much higher.
