Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government should reduce VAT rates on petroleum products to contain the cascading impact of rising fuel prices, said Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a press conference here on Thursday.
Critising the BJD government for organising protests against fuel price rise on several occasions, the Union Minister said, “There are several reasons contributing to petrol and diesel price hike. Some of them include fluctuations in international market and depreciation of Indian rupees against the US dollars. The Centre is working out a plan to control the increase in fuel prices.”
Stating that the central and state governments are equally responsible for the rising fuel prices, Dharmendra said the Centre had already slashed excise duty on fuel by Rs 2 in October last year. “Now, its Odisha government’s turn to reduce the 26 percent VAT that is being imposed on fuel,” he added.
On the other hand, state finance minister Sashi Bhusan Behera said that the Centre’s excise tax is much more than that of Odisha.
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