Jackson Tayeng

ITANAGAR, Jul 7: The withdrawal of 25% cess imposed on alcoholic beverages has given hope of a similar action on value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in the state.  However, the Arunachal Pradesh government is still silent on the VAT imposed on fuel that directly affects the common man especially during the on-going pandemic. 
With earnings already dipping for many households due to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, the increase in fuel prices has only made matters worse.
A driver who plies a tempo on rental basis in Itanagar says 'Government should look into VAT on fuel that affects larger and poorer population. Alcohol is a luxury product which doesn’t concern the larger population.' COVID -19 has  already hit earnings. With the ever increasing fuel price, I hardly save any amount because most of the share of my earning goes into fuel, he lamented while adding that the prices of basic commodities are also touching the sky.
'We hope that VAT on fuel will also be withdrawn soon,’ he adds.
An official in the Tax and Excise department at Itanagar informed that in May 2021 the price of petrol was 85.73 and diesel was Rs 80.15 per litre. Prices drastically increased on June to Rs 89.48 per litre petrol and diesel reached up to Rs 84.32. Further, the fuel prices reached Rs 93.63 (petrol) and Rs 86.82 (diesel) per litre in Itanagar as on July 11.
‘The current VAT on petrol is 20% (₹15.37) and 12.5 %(₹9.54 )on diesel  per litre in Arunachal Pradesh,’ said an official while sharing that till July 5 last, the base price of petrol was ₹ 40.12 per litre and diesel was ₹ 41.90 per litre with Dealer Commission at ₹ 3.79 per litre (petrol). The central tax (Excise Duty plus Road Cess as charged by the Central Government) stood at ₹32.90(petrol) and ₹31.8 (diesel) respectively. 
On being asked if the state government plans on reducing VAT on petroleum products, Secretary Tax & Excise YW Ringu said that as of now she is not able to comment on the issue. 
Despite grand promise of “One Nation, One Tax”, multiple taxation is still a heavy burden on the middle class specially the salaried class and daily wage earners.  The state government ought to reduce VAT on petroleum products as short term measure during pandemic period to provide relief to the commoners. Such measure would go a long way in increasing the purchasing power when income is badly  hit due to continued lockdowns and curfews. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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