Team Herald
PANJIM: Almost a week after the Centre raised the price of petrol by Rs 2.21 per litre, the State government on Friday reduced VAT on the fuel by 6 percent to maintain the price below Rs 60 a litre. The price of petrol that was Rs 62.90 per litre after the Central price hike, will now roll back to Rs 59.60 per litre. This will result in a loss of Rs 5 crore to the government.
The price of petrol had become costlier by Rs 3.50 from April 1 as Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had announced a hike in VAT from 15 percent to 22 percent, leading to the price increasing to Rs 57 per litre from the earlier Rs 54.50 per litre. Ironically, on the very day the State Budget announced increasing VAT, the Centre had hiked the price of petrol by over Rs 3 per litre.
In May, when the Centre again hiked the price of the fuel by 83 paise, the State government had reduced VAT from 22 to 20 percent.
