SHILLONG, Nov 3: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday said it would not be easy for the state government to announce a cut in taxes on petrol and diesel, considering the fact that the fuel tax in Meghalaya is the lowest in the country and the last reduction had cost the state government a loss of over Rs 100 crore in revenue.
“After we reduced the taxes because of public pressure the state government has lost over Rs 100 crore as revenue and therefore it is not a simple decision for us to take right now,” the CM said, reacting to the Centre’s announcement of cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel by a record Rs 5 and Rs 10 per litre to help bring down rates down from their highest-ever levels.
He pointed out that some states are charging upto 36% tax while Meghalaya is charging much lesser than that. “Keeping in mind the large number of expenditure that we have incurred it is making it difficult for us to find a way forward. However, we are still examining how we can move forward in this regard,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Finance Ministry announced the cut and said, “Government of India has taken a significant decision of reducing Central Excise Duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 (per litre) respectively from tomorrow. Prices of petrol and diesel will thus come down accordingly.”
This is the highest-ever reduction in excise duty and rolls back a part of the Rs 13 and Rs 16 per litre increase in taxes on petrol and diesel effected between March and May, 2020.
Neighbouring Assam has announced a reduction in VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs 7 per litre. Several other states like Tripura, manipur, Sikkim, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have also announced cuts in VAT on fuel.
(With agency inputs)