HYC demands Govt to reduce VAT on petrol, diesel by 50%

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 16, 2021

The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has demanded the state government to reduce by 50 percent the Value Added Tax (VAT) on sale of petrol and diesel in the state.

In a memorandum to the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday, HYC general secretary Roykupar Synrem said, “(We request) that the state government should take a conscious decision to alleviate the suffering of the people of the State by reducing the VAT on sale of Petrol and Diesels in the State by 50% of the present rate of VAT chargeable.”

“It is (also) requested that the state government may kindly take up the issue of hike in Central Taxes with regard to fuels with the appropriate authority in order to impress upon them to reduce the Excise Tax and thereby provide relief to the citizens of the state,” he added.

He said the price of petrol in the last few days has crossed the 3 digits mark and diesel is being sold at Rs 92.65 per litre adding “The main reason for the hike in prices is the central and state government taxes.”

Synrem also informed that at present the central government is charging about Rs 32-33 per liter of petrol as excise duty and the VAT charged by the state government is around Rs 22-23 per liter of petrol.

For diesel fuel, excise duty is about Rs 31-32 per Liter and Rs 13-14 per Liter is charged as VAT by the respective state governments.

“If we club the two taxes together, it may be stated that the motorist has to pay around 55% and about 50%, respectively as taxes for petrol and diesel each time he /she tanks up the vehicles. This is the main reason for the wallet-busting fuel prices in our state also,” he said.

The HYC leader further pointed out that the rise in fuel prices have also led to increased transportation costs across the state and directly or indirectly affected the prices of essential commodities.

“Considering that almost every single commodity is transported by road in the state, transportation costs are embedded into all costs. This in turn will affect all the sections of the society especially the farmers of the state,” he said

“At the time when the whole world, including our state, is seriously affected by Covid-19, it is a matter of great concern that the governments i.e. the central and the state government is burdening the people heavily  by increasing the prices of fuels through levy of taxes. The increased prices of fuels have a cascading effect on the prices of all items of daily use in the state,” Synrem also stated.