Fuel prices to go up in Punjab as VAT hiked

Chandigarh: Fuel prices are set to go up in Punjab with the state Cabinet on Thursday deciding to increase value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by 61 paise a litre and 92 paise per litre, respectively. A decision in this regard was taken by the council of ministers in a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. At present, the retail price of petrol in Mohali stands at Rs 97.01 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 87.21. Already, the fuel is more expensive in Punjab than in Chandigarh. In the Union Territory of Chandigarh, prices of petrol and diesel are Rs 94.24 and 82.40 per litre, respectively. Fuel pump owners strongly condemned the decision of the AAP-led government, saying it would hit their business hard. They further said it is the third time that the Bhagwant Mann-led government raised fuel prices in the past two-and-a-half years. Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the decision has been taken to raise VAT on petrol and diesel. He said VAT on petrol will be raised by 61 paise and 92 paise a litre for diesel. Cheema said the hike in VAT on fuel will lead to an increase in revenue by Rs 395 crore from diesel and Rs 150 crore from petrol.

Punjab withdraws

subsidised power tariff

The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday rolled back the previous Congress government’s decision to reduce power tariff by Rs 3 per unit for consumers, a move which will yield Rs 1,500-1,800 crore per annum to the state exchequer.

However, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said 300 units of free electricity per month for the domestic category will continue. In November 2021, the then Charanjit Singh Channi government slashed the power tariff by Rs 3 per unit for domestic consumers, having a connected load of up to 7 kW (kilowatt). The decision to withdraw the previous government’s decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. Addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, Cheema said the previous government had reduced the power rates by Rs 3 per unit for domestic consumers, having up to 7 kW load.