Hyderabad: The BJP in Telangana demanded the TRS government slash Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel as done by the BJP-ruled states after the Centre cut the excise duty on fuel.
State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay demanded that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) reduce VAT to provide relief to common man. He pointed out that many BJP-ruled states proactively reduced VAT after the BJP-led government at the Centre announced excise duty reduction on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 per litre, respectively.
He took to Twitter questioning ruling TRS about possibility of reducing VAT on petrol and diesel: "Narendra Modi ji led Government announces Excise duty reduction on Petrol & Diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively. Following this announcement, many BJP ruled states have proactively reduced VAT. Will the ruling TRS Govt takes a similar action in Telangana?" Telangana BJP President Questioned.
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BJP MLA Raja Singh demanded that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announce reduction in VAT on petrol and diesel, noting that the TRS had been criticising BJP for hike in petrol and diesel prices during the campaign for Huzurabad Assembly by-election.
Claiming that Telangana is charging Rs.41 in the form of VAT per litre of petrol, the BJP leader said the state can cut the price by at least Rs 8. "This will bring down the petrol price in the state to Rs 100," he said.
Following the Centre's announcement on Wednesday, the petrol price in Hyderabad came down to Rs 108.18 per litre on Thursday from Rs 114.47, a drop of Rs.6.29. The price of diesel also dropped by Rs 12.78 - from Rs 107.40 to Rs 94.62.
While the TRS government has not responded to the demands, some leaders of the ruling party pointed out that VAT automatically comes down with the cut in excise duty. TRS leader Krishank described separate statements by the BJP as a publicity stunt.
Telangana's Industry Minister and TRS Working President KT Rama Rao re-tweeted Krishank's tweet.
Krishnak also pointed out that while Telangana has not increased VAT for the last six years, the Centre increased the excise duty by 400 per cent during the same period.
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In 2014 the VAT in Telangana was 31 per cent and it was increased to 35.2 per cent in 2015 but there has been no increase since then. The TRS leader tagged a chart to show how the Centre increased the excise duty. In 2014, when the petrol price was Rs 71.41 per litre, the Centre's excise duty was Rs.9.48. The Centre increased the excise duty to Rs 22.98 in 2020 and further to Rs 32.98 in 2021.
Karnataka Slashes Rs 13.30 On Petrol & Rs 19 On Diesel
Among the BJP-ruled states, Karnataka has announced a drastic cut by reducing the state's share of sales tax on petrol from 35 per cent to 25.9 per cent, and on diesel from 24 per cent to 14.34 per cent.
Petrol in Karnataka has become cheaper by Rs 13.30 and diesel by Rs 19 per litre compared to the prices on Wednesday.
(With inputs from IANS)