Ashok Gehlot seeks further cuts in excise duty of petrol, diesel 'to reduce inflation'

Dissatisfied with the latest slash in petrol and fuel prices, on November 4 Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged the Centre to further reduce the excise duty 'to reduce the inflation'. In the open letter addressed to PM Modi, Congress' Ashok Gehlot mentioned that the current reduction on excise duty by Rs 5 and Rs 10 in petrol and diesel prices respectively will affect Value Added Tax wherein petrol prices per litre will come down by Rs 1.8 and diesel prices per litre will be brought down by Rs 2.6. 

"This will incur an annual loss of Rs 18,00 crore to the VAT revenue of the state," CM Gehlot stated. 

Taking to Twitter, the Rajasthan CM shared, "With the reduction of Excise Duty by the Center, the VAT of the states is automatically reduced in the same proportion, yet we demand that the Center should reduce the Excise Duty more to reduce the inflation."

In the letter, CM Gehlot also wrote that since the beginning his government has been asking the Central government to reduce the excise duty so that the public can enjoy a reduction in both, excise duty and VAT. He urged PM Modi to further reduce the excise duty and relieve the public from the adversities of inflation. Notably, CM Gehlot vouched that his government is willing and competent to redeem these losses in the interest of the public. 

Centre brings down excise duty on diesel & petrol prices on Diwali eve 

In a Diwali bonanza by the Modi government and major relief to the common man, the prices of petrol and diesel will be reduced by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively from the day of the festival, November 4. After seven consecutive days of the hike, fuel prices remained constant as of Wednesday. The most recent hike, on November 2, pushed the price of petrol in Delhi to an all-time high of Rs 110.04 a litre.

As per govt sources, the reduction in excise duty on diesel being double that of petrol will be a boost for farmers during the upcoming Rabi season. States have also been urged to reduce VAT on petrol & diesel to give further relief to consumers.

"The Indian farmers have, through their hard work, kept the economic growth momentum going even during the lockdown phase and the massive reduction in excise on diesel will come as a boost to the farmers during the upcoming Rabi season," the Ministry of Finance stated. 

Check out petrol prices and diesel price in India for November 4

Mumbai

• Petrol price: Rs 109.98 per litre 
• Diesel price: Rs 94.14 per litre 

New Delhi

• Petrol price: Rs 103.97 per litre
• Diesel price: Rs 86.67 per litre

Chennai

• Petrol price: Rs 101.40 per litre 
• Diesel price: Rs 91.43 per litre 

Bengaluru

• Petrol price: Rs 107.64 per litre
• Diesel price: Rs 92.03 per litre

Kolkata

• Petrol price: Rs 104.67 per litre
• Diesel price: Rs 89.79 per litre

Hyderabad

• Petrol price: Rs 108.20 per litre
• Diesel price: Rs 94.62 per litre

Patna

• Petrol price: Rs 107.92 per litre
• Diesel price: Rs 93.10 per litre

Lucknow

• Petrol: Rs 101.05 per litre
• Diesel: Rs 87.09 per litre