Petrol, diesel prices down by 10.40 & 7.37

Thiruvananthapuram: Petrol and diesel price in the state would come down by Rs 10.40 and Rs 7.37 respectively following the fuel tax reduction announced by the Union government.
Like in the previous times, the state government is in no mood to make any additional reduction in the fuel price as it considers the cascading revenue loss it suffers on account of the excise duty cut by the Centre as the contribution of the state. “We welcome the Union government decision to cut down the petrol-diesel price. As part of the excise duty cut, the state government would reduce the excise tax on petrol and diesel by Rs 2.41 and Rs 1.36 respectively,” the office of finance minister K N Balagopal informed.
The reduction announced by the state is the cascading effect of the tax rate cut on state revenue. Balagopal has time and again said that the state government was not in a financial position to make fuel tax reductions on its own as the reductions made by the Centre, which exclusively enjoys the cess and a lions’ share of the fuel tax, would anyway reduce the state’s income from the fuel sales.
BJP state president K Surendran demanded the state government to reciprocate to the fuel price cut announced by the Centre by forgoing minimum Rs 10 each from the state’s share of tax on petrol and diesel per litre.
“Unless the state reduces the price further , BJP would be forced to organize protests demanding the same. Kerala levies the highest tax on fuel, compared to other states in the country. It did not reduce the tax rate when the Centre made price cuts on earlier occasions,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP national executive council member P K Krishnadas said the Centre has set a model by slashing tax on fuel. The state should emulate the Union’s model, he said.