BackMadhya Pradesh government cuts VAT on petrol, diesel
Following the rate cut, petrol will be cheaper by about Rs1.70 per litre and diesel by about Rs4 per litre in Madhya Pradesh
PremiumBhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday reduced value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by 3% and 5%, respectively. The state government also withdrew the additional cess of Rs1.50 per litre on diesel.
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Gujarat and Maharashtra states had reduced VAT on these fuels earlier this week.
“The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to reduce VAT on petrol by 3%. The VAT on diesel is reduced by 5%. Moreover, the additional cess of Rs1.50 per litre has also been withdrawn," state finance minister Jayant Malaiya announced after a meeting with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The revised rates will be applicable from midnight on Friday, he said.
“Now, the VAT on petrol has been reduced to 28% from 31% and on diesel to 22% from 27%," the minister said.
Following the rate cut, the petrol will be cheaper by about Rs1.70 per litre and diesel by about Rs4 per litre in the state, Malaiya said.
The decision would cause a revenue loss of about Rs1,000 crore to the state exchequer in the remaining six months of the current fiscal, he said.
The chief minister said the decision to cut the VAT was taken in the interest of the public.
“The decision to cut the prices was taken to provide relief to the common man, besides keeping the needs of farmers in mind. The diesel price cut would also reduce the freight rates which would further bring down the prices of commodities," Chouhan said.
However, state Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi said the government’s move to cut the prices was just an “eyewash".
“Going by the crude oil prices in global market, the petrol price should be less than Rs50 per litre. This reduction hardly means anything. The fuel prices should be drastically slashed," Chaturvedi said.
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