Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri on Thursday launched a critique against the “hypocrisy” of the opposition-ruled states and said petrol would be cheaper if some of them cut taxes on the fuel instead of imported liquor.
The minister’s remarks in a series of social media posts came a day after the prime minister Narendra Modi held the opposition ruled states responsible For not cutting fuel taxes to benefit consumers.
Mr Puri listed the taxation structures of several states for petroleum products and argued that the taxes levied by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states are among the lowest. He criticized states for imposing high taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which led to an increase in airfares.
“BJP ruled states have VAT” [value added tax] Petrol and diesel are in the range of ₹14.50 to ₹17.50/litre, while taxes levied by states ruled by other parties are in the range of ₹26 to ₹32/litre. The difference is clear. Their intention is only to protest and criticize, not to give relief to the people,” he remarked.
“Ever wondered why air ticket prices have not come down? Aviation turbine fuel accounts for about 40% of the cost of airline operations. But West Bengal, Maharashtra and Delhi levy a whopping 25%+ VAT on ATF whereas BJP in the states of UP and Nagaland; And the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir charges just 1%,” Mr Puri said, adding that the PM was ensuring cheap air travel for common citizens, but these states were creating “bottlenecks”.
The oil and gas minister said, “They protest against ‘oil prices’ but take people to fill their coffers.
Maharashtra has collected Rs 79,412 crore as fuel tax since 2018 and is expected to collect Rs 33,000 crore this year, he said, questioning the state for not reducing VAT on petrol and diesel to provide relief to the people. raised.
“Petrol will be cheaper if opposition-ruled states cut taxes on fuel instead of imported liquor! Maharashtra government levies Rs 32.15 per liter on petrol and Rs 29.10 in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, but the protests of just Rs 14.51 in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand and Rs 16.50 in Uttar Pradesh cannot challenge the facts! he commented.
Telangana, whose Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Wednesday strongly criticized the prime minister’s advice to states, terming it a “curious matter”, with Mr Puri saying it levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel at 35.20 per cent and 27 per cent respectively. , “The state government has collected ₹56,020 crore as VAT from 2014 to 2021. Estimated to raise ₹13,315 crore in 2021-22. A whopping ₹69,334 crores adds up. Where have you gone?” He asked.
Mr Rao had pointed out that the Telangana government has not increased tax on petroleum products since 2015, while the Center has not only increased the tax but also imposed a cess.