Gujarat high court scraps interstate import tax on ethanol

In India, the high court in Gujarat has ruled against the policy lobbing import taxes on interstate ethanol trade, a move that is expected to help bring down fuel prices. The state doesn’t produce ethanol due to a ban on alcohol so imports for fuel blending, chemical and industrial use demanded imports. The import levy was established in 2013. The court ruled that excise duty, VAT and income tax provided the exchequer sufficient revenue from ethanol that an additional levy, which it said was the providence of the central government rather than state government, was not required.