While slashing the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 and giving the people some respite on November 3, the central government urged the States and Union Territories to lower the Value Added Tax (VAT) to provide even better relief to the motorists.
So, how many States / UTs have obliged? Let us see.
A government announcement released on November 5 discloses that 22 States/UTs have reduced the taxes, while 14 have not.
The States / UTs that did not reduce the taxes are –
Maharashtra, NCT of Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Andaman & Nicobar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
Will they reduce the taxes?
Punjab will take a call on the tax cut after the cabinet meeting on November 7.
Tamil Nadu reduced its VAT on August 13, and petrol has been cheaper by Rs. 3 since August 14. The opposition parties have started to ask the government to consider inflation and cut the tax further.
The ruling party in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress, has given no indication that it will reduce the VAT. BJP leaders plan to protest the government inaction after ‘Bhai Dooj’ (November 6).
Ladakh cuts the most tax
According to the Press Release, the most reduction in the fuel prices was seen in the Union Territory of Ladakh, followed by Karnataka and Puducherry. The prices of petrol in these UTs/state have come down by Rs 13.43, Rs 13.35 and Rs 12.85 respectively.
The most reduction in the diesel price has also been undertaken by the UT of Ladakh, with the price coming down by Rs 19.61 per liter, followed by Karnataka and Puducherry.