Why opposition ruled states not cutting taxes on fuel, asks BJP

BJP hit out at Congress and other opposition party led states for not reducing VAT on petrol and diesel in their states. Briefing media in New Delhi on Friday, party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said BJP ruled states cut VAT on petrol and diesel after Narendra Modi government drastically cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel. He asked why Opposition ruled states are not reducing VAT to provide relief to the people in their states. Bhatia said BJP government is sensitive to the problems of the common man and is taking steps to provide relief to them. 

Bhatia lashed out at the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for not announcing tax cuts. In Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Rajasthan people want to know why such steps have not been taken by the state governments,  Bhatia said. He made a reference to Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s tweet and said opposition-ruled states need to accept that they have the responsibility towards people, just as they have a share in the collections from tax.On Thursday, Gehlot, in a tweet, said, “With the reduction of excise duty by the Centre, the VAT levied by the states is automatically reduced in the same proportion. We demand that the Centre should further reduce excise duty to reduce inflation.”

As per available data,VAT remained unchanged in 14 states and Union territories -- Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Andaman & Nicobar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Odisha announced a Rs 3 per litre reduction in VAT on both petrol and diesel.