Delhi Congress questions Kejriwal's silence on fuel price hike, demands reduction in VAT

Intensifying its attack against the unabated surge in the fuel prices in the National Capital, Delhi Congress has cornered CM Arvind Kejriwal over his silence on the fuel price hike.

On Saturday, Attacking CM Kejriwal and his government, Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar wrote to the CM, drawing his attention to difficulties being faced by the people due to the continuing surge in prices. In the letter, Kumar asked the AAP chief to reduce the VAT (Value- added tax) on petrol to reduce the price of fuel in the national capital. 

Congress Questions CM Kejriwal's silence over rise in fuel prices

Commenting on the issue, the Delhi Congress chief highlighted that the petrol prices are high, as the central and state governments have been levying added tax on it of Rs. 23 and Rs.13 respectively and there has been no reduction on the tax.

“The Delhi Government is collecting Rs 23 from a litre of petrol and Rs 13 from a litre of diesel as VAT which is a betrayal on the people of Delhi. The people of Delhi seek a reply from the Chief Minister for taxing them with higher VAT. Coupled with the high excise duty charged by the Modi Government, petrol and diesel have become dearer than ever before in Delhi,” Kumar said in a statement. 

Kumar also tweeted the letter, and wrote in Hindi, which translates to, “Due to the COVID epidemic, there is an economic crisis in the country and the people of Delhi are suffering due to the huge increase of diesel-petrol. Today I requested Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal to reduce VAT tax by writing a letter regarding VAT tax on diesel-petrol.”

The statement quoted Kumar as saying, “Why Delhi Chief Minister was keeping quiet when fuel prices have soared past the roof, and why he was not taking up the matter with the Modi Government to reduce taxes so that petrol and diesel could be sold in the National Capital at affordable rates.” 

To populate their message, Delhi Congress also launched a number, coupled with hashtags like-- #tel_ka_khel_bandh_karo, #petrol_diesel_me_VAT_ki_loot to gain people’s support on the issue. They have invited people’s responses and asked them to share the issues being faced by them due to the rise in the prices. 
 

The Delhi Congress Chief also hit the streets asking people to sign on his demand for reduction of VAT in the state and asked people for their opinion on the rising prices.
 

The issue of fuel price hikes has become pertinent as the fuel prices continue to soar and burn a hole in the common man’s pocket. All the opposition parties are attacking incumbent governments on their inability to regulate the prices. 

In Delhi, petrol price rose to Rs 100.91 a litre and diesel to Rs 89.88 per litre on Saturday, along with many other states which have the cost price of petrol above Rs. 100.

How does tax add to the retail price of fuels?

The fuel prices change with the change in the cost of crude oil, which is regulated by the international market. However, along with the central government’s excise duty, state governments also levy local taxes like VAT and freight charges, making the cost of fuels more than double the actual price. For eg, 55 per cent of the Selling price of petrol in Delhi is made up of taxes (Rs 32.90 a litre excise duty collected by the central government and Rs 22.80 VAT levied by the state government), similarly, for diesel, half of the price is made up of taxes (Rs 31.80 central excise and Rs 13.04 state VAT).

(With PTI Inputs)