The Himachal Pradesh government has increased Valued Added Tax on diesel by Rupees 3 and has reduced the VAT on petrol by 0.55 paisa, reported news agency ANI on Sunday. The increase and reduction would vary as per different fuel stations across the state.
“In SCHEDULE 'D' appended to the Himachal Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Act No. 12 of 2005), in column No. 3 of the commodity shown against serial number 2 "Diesel" for the existing figures and signs and words "6% or 4.40/- per litre, whichever is greater" the figures and signs and words "9.96% or 7.40/- per litre whichever is greater" shall be substituted,” stated the notification dated January 7, 2023.
“The above amendment shall come into force with effect from 07.01.2023 midnight,” it added.
Meanwhile, the four-week old Himachal Pradesh cabinet headed by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was expanded on Sunday with the induction of seven ministers, including Vikramaditya Singh, the son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
With the induction of seven members, the strength of the cabinet rose to nine. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered oath to the newly inducted ministers in a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhawan.
Shimla district with seven MLAs has been given a lion's share in the cabinet with three ministers and one Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS), while Bilaspur, Mandi and Lahaul and Spiti failed to get any representation.
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Besides the post of deputy speaker, three berths are still vacant as the maximum number of ministers, including the chief minister, cannot exceed 12.
The newly added ministers included eldest MLA Dhani Ram Shandil, former minister and three-time MLA from Solan, Chander Kumar, former minister and six-time MLA from Jawali in Kangra district, Harshwardhan Chauhan, six-time MLA from Shillai in Sirmaur district and Jagat Singh Negi, former deputy speaker and five-time MLA from tribal Kinnaur district.
(With inputs from PTI)