Rising Fuel Prices Are Not Such A Big "Dharam Sankat"
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-02-22 07:04:27
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Some states, including poll-bound West Bengal and Assam, have taken the lead in reducing VAT on petrol and diesel to provide relief to the common man and reduce the chances of inflation. West Bengal has reduced it by Re 1 while Assam has withdrawn the Rs 5 it had imposed as "Covid tax" some months back. But it is Meghalaya which has surprised many by giving the biggest relief of Rs 7.40 on petrol and Rs 7.10 on diesel. While the states have taken the lead, the Centre is still not deciding how to come out of the "dharma sankat" that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked of while talking about rising fuel prices.
But is it really a "dharma sankat" or is it just the greed of not letting go of the huge revenues that are flowing in due to the unnaturally high Central excise duties that were levied on petrol and diesel between March and May 2020 when crude prices had plummeted worldwide? Since May 2020, the Centre has been using fuel to garner additional revenue at rates that can be termed as extortionist. The excise duty on petrol was Rs 19.98 per litre in February 2020. It is 32.9 per litre now. There is no excuse valid enough to keep such high excise rates when the common man is suffering and there is a huge chance of inflationary pressures once transport costs start rising (which they already have since January).
The Centre must reduce the excise duty on petrol and diesel, if not to the rate that was prevailing in February 2020 then at least by Rs 5 per litre. The difference between the excise duties imposed in February 2020 and now is Rs 13 per litre. If it reduces it by Rs 5, it would still be earning an additional Rs 8 per litre. Since crude prices in the world market are showing no signs of coming down soon, the only way to reduce prices is to cut the excise duties. This is not such a big "dharma sankat". If the will to provide relief to the common man is there, the way out is also there.
Infograhpic courtesy: Cropped from an image in The Times of India dated 22 Feb 2021
