After liquor ban, Bihar cabinet increases VAT on petrol & diesel

 Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet today approved a proposal to increase VAT on petrol and diesel by 1.5 per cent and 1 per cent respectively in the state. The cabinet gave the green signal to a proposal of the Commercial Tax department to increase VAT on diesel from 18 per cent to 19 per cent and on petrol from 24.5 per cent to 26 per cent, Principal Secretary, Cabinet Coordination department, Brajesh Mehrotra told reporters. The cabinet approved 16 proposals of different departments at the meeting today. It gave its nod to waive the entertainment tax on a Hindi documentary "Guturgu-guturgu". The cabinet also gave its consent to constitution of a special cell for providing technical advice and other assistance for construction of earthquake-free houses and retro-fitting of old ones, Mehrotra said.