Petrol price is set to become costlier by over Rs2 per litre in Haryana with the BJP-led State Government raising VAT on petrol by five per cent on Thursday. “The Haryana Government has decided to amend the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on petrol from 20 per cent to 25 per cent,” said an official spokesperson while adding that the decision is likely to fetch additional revenue of Rs245 crore.
With an increase in VAT, the price of petrol in Haryana will jump by about Rs2.20 per litre making it Rs59.36 per litre. Before the hike in tax, petrol was priced at Rs57.16 per litre. Despite the hike in tax on petrol, the fuel will continue to be cheaper compared to the neighbouring State. In Punjab’s Mohali district, petrol price stands at Rs63.21 per litre.
However, petrol in Haryana will become costlier compared to the Union Territory of Chandigarh where the price of petrol is Rs57.24 per litre. A spokesman of Haryana Excise and Taxation Department said after the increase, the new VAT rate on petrol with 5 per cent surcharge would be 26.25 per cent. Earlier, the same was 20 percent plus surcharge. The rate of VAT being charged on petrol is 30.80 per cent in Punjab, 26.80 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 30 per cent in Rajasthan and 27 percent in Himachal Pradesh.
After the increase in VAT, the average retail sale price per litre would be Rs59.36 which will be lower than the average retail sale price of Rs74.12 per litre in Haryana as on July 1, 2014, he added. The Haryana Government had on November 25 raised the VAT on diesel from 9.24 per cent to 12.07 per cent, which would yield additional revenue of Rs737 crore to the State exchequer. Notably, petrol and diesel prices had been cut by Rs2.42 per litre and Rs2.25 per litre respectively by oil marketing companies earlier this month.