The government today said that it is committed to protect the interest of common man and will intervene in the pricing of petroleum products if international oil price show high volatility. Making a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Murli Deora, said that the government is committed to protecting both the interests of the common man, particularly the vulnerable sections of the society as well as the financial health of the public sector oil marketing companies. Mr Deora also said that some of the states have very high rates of sales tax on petrol and diesel and some are even levying sales tax as high as 12.5 per cent even on PDS kerosene. He appealed to the states to shift from ad valorem rates of sales tax to specific tax. He said such a step along with reducing levels of state taxes will ensure that the impact of the rising international oil prices will be minimal. He also said the prices of kerosene as well as the LPG are the lowest among the neighbouring countries. The Petroleum Minister said while the expert committee headed by Kirit Parikh had recommended an increase of hundred rupees per cylinder and six rupees per litre of PDS kerosene, the government hiked the price of cooking gas cylinder only by 35 rupees and that of kerosene by three rupees a litre. Mr Deora said that the Public Sector Oil Marketing companies are the backbone of the country's energy security and if their financial health deteriorates, their ability to supply petroleum products also suffers. He said the oil companies also required to make huge investments. He said the current pricing reforms will improve the financial health of these oil marketing companies. He also said that the market-determined pricing will encourage oil companies to reduce cost and improve efficiency because of the competition.