No rollback; petrol pumps to stay shut every Monday

Encouraged by VAT collections on the sale of diesel in the past few days, the Delhi government has ruled out any possible roll back on increase of VAT on diesel, reports HT Correspondent.

The new value added tax (VAT) structure on diesel is going to stay.

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Encouraged by VAT collections on the sale of diesel in the past few days, the Delhi government has ruled out any possible roll back on increase of VAT on diesel.

On the other hand, petrol dealers said starting May 24, they would observe off every Monday, till the government agrees to roll back the hike on VAT on diesel.

Petrol dealers are on one-day token strike on Friday.

While the sale of has diesel dipped by approximately 35 per cent since VAT on diesel was increased from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent, the tax collection increased by almost 30 per cent, a senior VAT official said.

“Our sales have gone down drastically and we will have to compromise on services that we offer to customers,” said Anil Bijlani, general secretary, Delhi Petrol Dealers Association.

“Apart from complete holiday on all Mondays, we will also reduce our working hours and cut down on other facilities like free washing etc. that we offer to customers,” he added.

Delhi finance minister Ashok Walia said Delhi has been losing Rs 300 crore every year due to less VAT collections.

“Our neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab are agricultural states. VAT in these states is less on diesel and more on petrol. In UP too, VAT is high on petrol and low on diesel. In the upcoming meeting of the empowered committee of finance ministers, we are going to bring up the point that VAT on diesel is brought at par in all states,” said Walia.

In response to the inconvenience that Delhiites might face on Mondays, Walia said Delhi’s public transport system runs on CNG.

“People can make use of public transport. About 24 petrol pumps in Delhi, which are directly operated by the companies, will also remain open on Mondays,” Walia said.