The government on Wednesday issued a notification increasing value added tax (VAT) on petrol from 3.50 per cent to 10 per cent, thereby making petrol costlier by Rs 3. Former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had imposed VAT on petrol in September by increasing petrol prices in the State by Rs 2 per litre. However its impact was not felt as the Union government on the same day had slashed petrol prices by Re 1 per litre across the country.
The BJP led government, after assuming power in 2012, had abolished VAT on petrol as an anti-inflation measure reducing the price by almost Rs 11 per litre. The decision was hailed across the country.
The decision to further impose VAT was justified by Parsekar stating that government has noticed that the cost of petrol in Goa was less than diesel, which is not fair. He had said that decision has been taken in the larger interest of the State, considering that the State treasury has suffered after abolition of VAT, followed by the closer of the mining industry.
