NCP chief Sharad Pawar
After the central government reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday demanded the release of GST compensation to states for reducing Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel. His remarks came days after the central government reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel.
“If the Center pays GST compensation to all the states, it is possible for the state governments to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and implement other welfare schemes,” Sharad Pawar said in a statement.
The Finance Ministry on Wednesday announced a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 per liter respectively. As fuel prices hit a record high, this is the first cut in central excise duty in three years.
Several BJP-ruled states have announced additional cuts following the Centre’s announcement on Wednesday. These include Karnataka, Puducherry, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Assam, Sikkim, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. , Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Ladakh.
Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have not yet announced additional benefits.
(with ANI inputs)
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