Congress Deputy leader in the lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday criticised Rs1 cess on each litre of diesel and petrol in the State, saying “Punjab Government is passing on the burden of its own economic failure to the common man by way of punitive taxes”.
“VAT on diesel in Punjab is already highest in the country. Now, the additional cess will further disturb the monthly budget of everyone whether farmers or the common man,” he said.
The former Chief Minister maintained that while the cess on diesel will badly hit the agriculture and transport sector, the cess on petrol will hit the common people hard as they use two wheelers and small petrol driven vehicles.
Capt Amarinder said that measures like the imposition of cess on fuel were only the signs of an ailing economy that is at the verge of bankruptcy. “And if the government thinks it can retrieve the economy with such punitive taxes, it is badly mistaken…Rather it will affect the economy adversely,” he said.