At the onset Mr. Rajiv Bahl, Director (Finance, Taxation & Legal), FIPI welcomed the guests and impressed upon them as to how the implications of the budget are expected to reflect on the oil and gas sector. He also delved upon several critical issues like bringing all petroleum products under the fold of GST, clarity on levy of service tax on royalty on oil exploration, reduction in OID cess and the pressing need to introduce new incentives to bring in more investments in the Oil and Gas sector. Mr. P. Balasubramanian, Director (Fin.) BPCL in his opening remarks gave us an insight into the policies presented in the Budget. He especially commented on the threefold unique nature of this budget – this was the first time that the Union Budget was being held on Feb 01 instead of Feb 28, the merger of the railway budget with the Union Budget and the removal of plan and non- plan expenditure layout of the budget. The latter would provide a holistic view of plans of the government.

Mr. Debasish Mishra, Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP gave a comprehensive snapshot of what the Union Budget means for the Oil and Gas industry. Mr. Hemal Zobalia, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP discussed the direct tax implications of the budget while the indirect tax implications were discussed by Mr. Anoop Kalavath, Sr. Director, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP.

A panel discussion constituting Mr. V.K. Jain, ED - Tax, HPCL, Ms. Bela Mao, Tax Director, Shell, Mr. R.G. Subramaniam, Sr. VP Tax, RIL was held and moderated by Mr. Hemal Zobalia, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP. A very well engaged and highly interactive session on the implications of lack of inclusion of all petroleum products under the field of GST was conducted. Also discussed were the challenges and efficiencies associated with creating a “Mammoth”.