UT VAT cut blow to petrol pump owners in Mohali

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 18

A day after the UT Administration slashed the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by 5 per cent, petrol pump owners in Mohali demanded a reduction in VAT on fuel on a par with the rate in Chandigarh.

In the tricity, petrol is now costliest in Mohali costing Rs 73.77 per litre as compared to Rs 65.66 in Chandigarh. The price difference of Rs 8.11 per litre  has dealt a severe blow to the pump owners in Mohali.

The diesel price in Chandigarh has reduced to Rs 55.17 per litre. In Mohali, diesel is priced higher at Rs 56.92 a litre. On Tuesday, tax on diesel was slashed from 16.4 per cent to 11.4 per cent, while tax on petrol was reduced from 24.74 per cent to 19.74 per cent in Chandigarh.

The move, which brought relief to residents in the city, was slammed by the petrol pump owners as discriminatory.

Ashwinder Singh Mongia, President of the Mohali Petroleum Dealers Association, said the decision would make petrol pumps unviable in Mohali. “The sale will drop by 30 per cent. The commuters in the tricity will go to Chandigarh to get their tanks filled.

He said, “The Chandigarh Petroleum Dealers lobby was influential. The decision will have a major impact on pumps on the highway near Zirakpur and Dera Bassi, which are heavily dependent on sale of diesel for interstate travel.”

Rajesh Maggu, owner of the Indian Oil petrol pump in Sector 70, said the Punjab Government should also reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and bring it on a par with rates in the UT. “This will result in loss for petrol pumps in Mohali. Customers will go where the fuel is cheaper,” he said.

Maggu said for trucks with double tanks, a price differential of almost Rs 2 in diesel would lead to a daily saving of Rs 2,000 for truck drivers. “Why would they come to Mohali for fuel then?” he said.

Balwant Singh, an attendant at the Phase 7 HP petrol pump, said the change in diesel prices would have a major impact on revenue.

“The average sale of diesel here is 25,000-26,000 litres a day. Earlier, when the diesel prices were high, over 40,000 litres a day was sold. The cut in diesel price in Chandigarh will reduce the sale here,” he said.