Bhubaneswar: September 16: Politics over fuel price hike gears up in the state of Odisha. Today, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan suggested the Odisha government to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT). So that, fuel price can be brought down immediately.
Union Minister said, ‘Odisha Government was collecting an annual tax revenue of about Rs.3000 crore from fuel in 2014 and is now collecting 7000 crore. As the fuel prices have gone up in the International Market, it is affecting the domestic market. So, it is the duty of the state government now to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT). So that, fuel price can be brought down’.
On the other side, BJD has reacted to Union Minister’s suggestion sharply. BJD spokesperson and leader Pratap Dev said, ‘centre was charging excise duty of 6 percent on Petrol and is currently levying 19 percent whereas the excise duty on diesel has increased to 15 percent’.
Further, Dev asked, ‘What the central government did with the taxes that it collected?’
It is to be noted, Fuel prices in the country have been going up almost daily since August 1. They fell only once on August 13 and have been on record levels for nearly two weeks now, which has been causing dissatisfaction among the consumers.
