Bhubaneswar: Hours after the Centre slashed excise duty on fuel, the Odisha government on Thursday reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by Rs 3.
This will come into effect from November 5 midnight.
“With this reduction, petrol and diesel prices in the state are likely to be one of the lowest in the country,” said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
In view of this reduction, the loss of VAT revenue to the state exchequer will be to the tune of Rs 1400 crore per annum. This is in addition to the loss in VAT collection at Rs 1.6/ litre on petrol and Rs. 2.8/ litre on diesel, amounting to Rs 700 core which the state is likely to incur in view of excise duty reduction by the Centre.
“The total loss to the state exchequer on account of reduction in VAT will be approximately Rs 2000 crore but is going as a major relief to the people of Odisha,” he added.
Nine BJP-ruled states – Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Karnataka, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand had earlier announced additional cuts in fuel rates.
While Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Karnataka and Goa introduced an additional cut of Rs 7 per litre on both petrol and diesel, Uttarakhand reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 2 per litre in the state. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said his government would also reduce VAT on petrol and diesel.
Meanwhile, fuel prices came down in Odisha on Thursday after the slash in the excise duty rate on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10. The 32 per cent and 28 per cent VAT on the reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel took the overall deduction to Rs 6.60 per litre and Rs 12.80 per litre respectively.
Bhubaneswar: Petrol Rs 104.91/L, Diesel 94.51
Cuttack: Rs 105.29/L, Diesel 94.88
Sambalpur: Rs 105.62/L, Diesel 95.25
Jeypore: Rs 109.73/L, Diesel 99.21
The prices will drop further with the additional cut announced by the government.
