Leaders, Unions Tussle With Govt Over Petrol, Diesel Prices in MP​

Bhopal: Politics over high VAT imposed on petrol-diesel heated up in Madhya Pradesh after the outcry on social media, said MP Petrol Pump Owners Association. The central Indian state has the second costliest prices petrol prices and the costliest diesel prices in the country.

Leader of Opposition, Ajay Singh, on Tuesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urging him to lower VAT on petrol-diesel in the public interest.

Singh, a senior Congress leader found an unlikely companion in former Chief Minister Babulal Gaur who said that VAT should be abolished in Madhya Pradesh for facilitating the inflation-hit public. “I will write a letter to the Finance Minister regarding this,” said Gaur.

Meanwhile, Minister of state for Co-operative Affairs, Vishwas Sarang seemed to be justifying the high VAT imposed by MP government on fuel by claiming that levying high tax on petrol-diesel was necessary for carrying out public welfare schemes. “We need revenue to run the government,” the minister said candidly.

In the year 2012-13, the state exchequer earned an income of Rs 4972 crore through taxes on petrol-diesel while the earnings almost doubled in 2016-17 when the MP government made Rs 8903 crore from the sector.

The state government recovers around Rs 20 per litre on petrol and Rs 14 per litre on diesel.

“With neighbouring states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and UP offering cheaper fuel, customers skip our outlets for refills,” Ajay Singh told News18.

“Forget about outsiders, local transporters prefer fuel refills from outside Madhya Pradesh. Even farmers from regions like Gwalior-Chambal head to neighbouring areas in UP and Rajasthan for buying fuel due to lower VAT there,” Singh claimed.

“Our repeated pleas for lowering VAT on petrol and diesel have fallen on deaf ears,” he added.

Notably, it was CM Shivraj who had led the charge by reaching Secretariat on cycle when petrol prices surged during the UPA regime.

On Tuesday, petrol was sold at Rs 76.93 a litre in Bhopal, while diesel prices surged to Rs 65.32 per litre. Interestingly, besides a 31% VAT levied on petrol, the state government puts an additional Rs 4 per litre cess on the fuel. Similarly, diesel is taxed in Madhya Pradesh with 27% VAT besides Rs 1.5 per litre cess, according to figures compiled by MP Petrol Pump Owners Association.