On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged governments to lower taxes on fuels such as gasoline and diesel, whose costs have been putting a dent in people’s wallets.
During an interaction with Chief Ministers on the COVID-19 situation, Modi said, ‘In order to reduce the burden of rising petrol and diesel prices, the central government had reduced the excise duty last November. States were also urged to reduce their taxes. Some states have reduced their tax, but some states have not given its benefits to their people’.
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu, according to Modi, did not abide by the federal government’s statements for one reason or another, and their population continued to be burdened. ‘I pray that what was to be done in November, now by reducing VAT, you should pass on the benefit to the citizens’, he said.
His comments come as petrol prices in all major cities across the nation have above Rs 100 per litre, while diesel prices in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala have gone beyond Rs 100 per litre.
Petrol and diesel prices were recently raised on April 6, bringing the cost of the fuels up by Rs 10 per litre in only 16 days. The Centre reduced excise tax on fuel by Rs 10 per litre and on petrol by Rs 5 in November last year. As a result, the value-added tax (VAT) on the two fuels was reduced in as many as 25 states and union territories.
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