Regulator PNGRB for regulating regasification fee, bringing natural gas under GST

compressed natural gas (CNG) and city gas distribution (CGD) prices cheaper.Noting that the regulator is vested with power primarily to fix tariffs for natural gas pipelines, the report said: "However, other remaining major part of delivered cost of gas i.e. gas prices, regasification charges (including truck loading charges) are currently not in PNGRB’s regulatory oversight.

There is a need for statutory provisions and administrative oversight over these functions across the gas value chain. Besides this there is another major component of cost i.e.

taxation (VAT/GST on several components/custom duty, etc)."Regasification charges, charges by regasification terminals, currently account for 5-6% of the delivered gas cost to consumers and they are not regulated. Major infrastructure costs for delivery of natural gas to various consuming sectors consists of natural gas pipeline tariffs, re-gasification charges of LNG along with CGD infrastructure costs for gas consumption in the CGD sector.India started importing LNG in 2004 with the first regasification terminal getting commissioned in 2004 in Gujarat.

After 2013, terminals have come up in other states also, but the report notes that they are largely concentrated in Gujarat.As of November 2024, India had an operational LNG regasification capacity of around 47.7 million metric tonne per annum with a total investment of ₹37,000 crore, according to the PNGRB report.For FY24, the average capacity utilization of the regasification terminals was around 51%, including Dahej which was around 95%. Barring Dahej, the other terminals' capacity utilization varied from 15% to 45% during the period, averaging 25%."It may be inferred that based on these utilization levels most of the LNG