Plan panel member for Nelp tax sops

NEW DELHI: More tax incentives should be included in the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (Nelp) to persuade investors to stay in India for oil and gas exploration, Kirit S Parikh, Planning Commission member (energy), said at a conference organised by Assocham on Friday. The minister has also demanded more powers for the oil regulator for deciding fair refining and retail petroleum pricing.

Dr Parikh said that the pricing pattern for petroleum products in India has to be linked with crude volatility factor. Incentives and tax concessions are required in Nelp so that exploration is made attractive to investors, he said. According to him, the gas regulator needs to be empowered to decide on fair petroleum prices both at the refining and retail ends.

The minister said that the current regime encourages monopolistic tendencies and creates little competition. This needs to be overhauled so that investors stay in India to compete with oil utilities, which will benefit consumers and increase the acreage of oil and gas in India.