Cong Govt puts a burden of Rs 1500 cr on public: BJP
By the hike in VAT on diesel, the Congress government has directly increased the economic burden on the people of the state by Rs 1500 crore, said BJP's HP unit chief Dr Rajeev Bindal.
After the petrol and diesel prices in many states fell sharply as more states announced Value-Added Tax (VAT) cuts, the commercial vehicle operators are demanding similar initiatives from the state government.
Notably, in the past couple of months, the petrol and diesel prices had soared to record highs. However, after the Centre’s move to slash excise duty levied on fuel, prices of petrol and diesel in many states came down sharply bringing some relief to the citizens.
Considering the development, the city’s commercial vehicle operators have written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee to reduce VAT on diesel and petrol to bring fuel prices in West Bengal at par with the neighbouring states. The letter has been written by the members of All India Motor Transport Congress, which is an apex body of commercial vehicle operators encompassing all segments including cargo and passenger, on pan India basis.
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According to the operators, West Bengal has high VAT on petrol and diesel as compared to other states. A reduction in VAT will save the state revenue from getting eroded as lakhs of vehicles coming from neighbouring states will get their tanks full with cheaper fuel.
With neighbouring states cutting the tax, people from West Bengal could cross the borders and take advantage of the cheaper prices in other states, leading to poor sales in the state and sizeable reduction in its revenue. The reduction in VAT will also boost consumption and will keep inflation low, thus helping the poor, middle classes, the vehicle operators wrote.
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