Gujarat, October 11, 2017
The Gujarat government slashed fuel prices by making a four per cent cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel. Terming as a “Diwali gift to Gujaratis”, CM Vijay Rupani and Deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel announced that the cut reduces the cost of petrol to Rs 67.53 per litre and diesel Rs 60.77 per litre with the price of petrol dropping by Rs 2.93 per litre and diesel dropping by Rs 2.72 per litre.
“The State Government of Gujarat initially reduced the price of fuel by 60 paise after the Central Government appealed to provide relief to farmers,” said CM Vijay Rupani.
Rupani also added that, after a detailed discussion with Finance Department, the government decided to reduce the Excise Duty by four per cent in the larger public interest. The excise duty has been, for the first time, drastically cut by four per cent in one go. The decision, he said, would cost the State Exchequer Rs 2,316 crore.
Nitinbhai Patel said, “The consumption of petrol and diesel products have increased in trade and industries to farms with the fast pace of development. The decision has been taken keeping in view the finances of public transport system like ST buses also, which depend largely on the cost of diesel. The decision will provide a big relief to particularly middle class people in their movement during the Diwali festival and vacation. Vehicles entering Gujarat from other states may buy more fuels here, increasing their total sale.”
A major portion of the State Government’s revenue-about Rs 12,000 crore-comes from Excise Duty. Yet, the decision to reduce the duty on petrol and diesel has been taken in anticipation of overall rise in revenue, according to the Gujarat government.
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