New Delhi: Hours after Centre reduced excise duty on fuel prices a day ahead of Diwali, several state government including Assam, Bihar, Karnataka and Tripura followed the suit and slashed value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government announced a VAT reduction of Rs 7 on petrol and diesel prices.
"In consonance with the decision of Hon'ble PM @narendramodi, I am pleased to announce that Assam Govt will also reduce VAT on petrol and diesel each by Rs 7/- with immediate effect," Biswa said in a tweet.
Even CM Nitish Kumar's government in Bihar went ahead and slashed VAT on petrol by Rs 1.30 and diesel by Rs 1.90.
"In Bihar there will be further reduction of state VAT by Rs 1.30 on petrol and Rs 1.90 on diesel apart from Rs 5 & 10 Rs reduction on excise duty. Effectively petrol will be cheaper by Rs 6.30 & diesel by Rs 11.90 in Bihar," former Deputy CM and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted.
Additionally, Basavaraj Bommai's Karnataka government also announced a cut down in VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs 7.
"Karnataka state government has decided to reduce the price of diesel and petrol by Rs 7 per litre. This will lead to a loss of Rs 2,100 crore to the exchequer," Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said in a tweet adding that petrol will cost an estimated Rs 95.50 per litre in the state and diesel Rs 81.50 per litre.
Even Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Wednesday announced that petrol and diesel prices in the state will be reduced by Rs 7 effective from November 4 (Thursday).
The Goa government also followed suit and reduced Rs 7 on petrol and Rs 7 on diesel, thereby reducing the price of diesel by Rs 17 per litre and petrol by Rs 12 per litre.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami also announced a reduction in petrol by Rs 2 per litre. He, however, did not say anything about diesel price.
Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Manipur also announced a reduction in fuel prices.
While Himachal CM said that the reduction in prices of petrol and diesel will be announced soon, whereas, Manipur CM announced reduction of VAT on fuel prices by Rs 7 with immediate effect.
Earlier in the day, Centre extended a Diwali bonanza for citizens of the country by reducing excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 and on diesel by Rs 10, effective from tomorrow.
After the excise duty reduction, petrol price will come down from the current rate of Rs 110.04 a litre in Delhi to Rs 105.04. Diesel rate will be reduced from Rs 98.42 per litre to Rs 88.42.
The Centre urged states to commensurately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.