'Not entirely surprised': Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri after Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala reduce VAT on petrol, diesel

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri took a swipe at non-BJP states Rajasthan, Maharashtra & Kerala for claiming credit for the actions taken by Centre after the states announced VAT cut on fuel prices.

In a series of tweets, Mr Puri wrote, "Not entirely surprised to see senior leaders from Rajasthan, Maharashtra & Kerala claiming credit for the actions taken by Centre & trying to pass off proportionate reduction in the VAT component due to a cut in Central Excise announced by FM, as their own reduction in VAT."

He further said, "Simply put - VAT is charged on the entire selling price, inclusive of Central Excise."

"When it is reduced by Rs 8 on Petrol & Rs 6 on diesel, the VAT component reduces by a proportionate amount of Rs 2.25 on Petrol & Rs 1.17 on Diesel, in case of Rajasthan as it charges 31% VAT," the union minister explained in a tweet further.

He claimed that the reduction in VAT has nothing to do with any decision taken by the State govt. "First they didn’t reduce taxes in November even as BJP states did and now they have gone a step further by claiming undue credit for the reduction announced by the centre," Mr Puri said.

Puri also said, "If the states are committed to providing relief to the citizens in their states who are still paying over Rs 13-15 /ltr more than the BJP ruled states, they must reduce the percentage of VAT."

The Centre on Saturday reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel. On Sunday, the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on per litre petrol by Rs 2.08 and diesel by Rs 1.44, while Congress led Rajasthan government reduced VAT by Rs 2.48 per liter on petrol and Rs 1.16 per liter on diesel.

The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala was the first to promptly announce a cut in the state tax on the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.41 and Rs 1.36 per litre.

Sitharaman had on Sunday said the the Rs 8 a litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 reduction on diesel have been done in road and infrastructure cess levied on the two fuels, collection on which was never shared with states.

The entire burden of these two duty cuts is borne by the Centre, she had said.

Published on: Monday, May 23, 2022, 04:33 PM IST