State charges 23% VAT on petrol, country's highest

TNN Mar 6, 2012, 03.23AM IST

AHMEDABAD: The state government has been charging 23% Value added tax (VAT) on petrol, 21% on diesel and 15% on compressed natural gas.

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Arjun Modhwadia said that the VAT on petrol and diesel charged in Gujarat was the highest in the country. Other states have VAT less than 20 per cent. "Despite the high tax rates, the government has levied additional two per cent tax in lieu of the abolition of the Octroi in the state," he added.

The government collects a cess of 2% on petrol and 3% on diesel. The state government in a written reply to Congress MLA from Vagara and chief whip Iqbal Patel on Monday claimed the total VAT on CNG was 15 per cent including cess. Several questions on VAT on CNG were asked by the Congress MLA in the state assembly on Monday.

In reply to another question of Congress MLA Bhavku Unghad, the House was told that since January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2011, the state earned revenue of Rs 8,251.45 crore as VAT on petrol and diesel while the cess collection amounted to Rs 1,695.16 crore.

The Congress has been accusing the state of charging maximum VAT on fuel. In the past, the Congress leader had also demanded that the state government should reduce the VAT.

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Nitin K. Parekh (HYDERABAD) 
06 Mar, 2012 10:31 PM
I wish Times of India had verified the facts before publishing the news with a sensational heading: The rate of sales tax in Andhra Pradesh are as under: Petrol 33% Aviation Motor Spirit and any other Motor Spirit 33% All kinds of Diesel Oils including C9 22.25% I hope Arjun Modhwadia, the Gujarat PCC President, does remember that it is his Congress Party which heads the government in Andhra Pradesh.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------shailu (Ahmedabad) 
06 Mar, 2012 10:42 AM
Here are the rates of VAT charged on petrol and Diesel by our neighboring states as given in Divya Bhaskara of today. Maharashtra: Petrol: 25% , Diesel: 21% Rajasthan: Petrol: 28%, Diesel: 18% MP: Petrol: 28.75%, Diesel: 23% Let Mr Modhwadia clarify or contest these numbers from where they are published.