Dealers up in arms against hike in VAT on petrol

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, February 16

The Faridabad Petrol Pump Dealers Association has raised a banner of protest claiming that the VAT hike had left them high and dry due to sharp reduction in sale.

“Because of the hike, dealers are losing out on business as the vehicles owners are patronising pumps in Delhi,” claimed Adarsh Diwan, senior vice president of the Faridabad Petrol Pump Dealers Association here today.

As many as 150 pumps in NCR, including 63 pumps of the district, are losing heavily in terms of sale after the recent move of the government to increase the VAT. The difference in the rate of petrol has gone up to Rs 4.17 per litre in comparison to the rate in Delhi and this has resulted in a drop of 20 to 25 percent in the past few days, he added.

With large sales in NCR which shares borders and entry points with Delhi, the possibility of Delhi eating into Haryana business was very high. The VAT which was 20 percent on petrol was hiked to 25 percent last week. Similarly the VAT on diesel was increased to 12.5 percent by the government in December last year, he added.

He also claimed that since a large number of vehicles will flock to Delhi for refuelling daily it will result in problems for both to the commuters and pump owners. The low VAT on diesel had already deprived the pumps in Faridabad and NCR to lose heavily as the price difference was around 53 paise per litre, he added.

The price of CNG in Delhi was also lower by Rs 7 per kg. Faridabad along with the dealers associations of other NCR towns, including Gurgaon, Sonepat and Bahadurgarh, have taken up the issue with other state associations.

A spokesperson of the association said that any decision to step up the stir will be taken after a meeting with the CM.