GUWAHATI:
Assam finance minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Friday that the additional tax of Rs 5 per litre imposed on petrol and diesel and the 25% excise duty on liquor during the pandemic peak have been withdrawn, reports Prabin Kalita. Assembly elections are likely in the state in March-April. Petrol currently costs Rs 90.4 per litre and diesel Rs 84.3/litre in Assam.
Only Gujarat has cheaper petrol than Assam now: HimantaSarma’s statement came while seeking the vote on account in the assembly.
“Hence, petrol and diesel will become cheaper by Rs 5 per litre with effect from midnight tonight, benefiting lakhs of consumers across Assam,” Sarma said in the House.
The additional cess on the three commodities was imposed in April.
Sarma said that with this withdrawal the price of petrol per litre in Assam will be second lowest in the country, after Gujarat, and the price of diesel will also be one of the lowest, after
Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. These reductions will result in a loss of Rs 80 crore per month to the state, he added.
“Now the pandemic has declined to a reasonable extent, the number of patients has reduced and the need for Covid-19 screening centres has also gone down. As such, the expenditure on the healthcare sector has come down substantially. Hence, the state
cabinet has decided to withdraw the additional cess and taxes,” Sarma said in his speech.
He added that “it would not be ethical to continue with these taxes as the pandemic situation has improved vastly”.