VIJAYAWADA: Welcoming the decision of the Centre to slash the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 per litre and Rs 6 per litre respectively, which reduced the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 and diesel by Rs 7 per litre, the people of the State have expressed their relief. With the new fuel rates coming into force from Sunday, many customers were seen filling fuel in their vehicles from the early hours.
According to fuel dealers, petrol costs Rs 111.33 per litre and diesel Rs 99.12 in Vijayawada after slashing the Excise duty tax on fuel, which was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman on Saturday. Earlier, it was Rs 120.86 per litre of petrol and Rs 116.50 per litre for diesel. Several consumers said that the decision comes as a relief to the poor and middle-class sections who were forced to shelve extra Rs 1,000 every month on fuel due to the price hike.
“The drop in fuel prices will impact various sectors and provide relief to the citizens. This move comes as a huge relief for us. When the petrol price was below Rs 80 per litre, our monthly fuel expenses were around Rs 3,000. But now it has crossed Rs 5,000,” said Revanth, a resident of Seetharampuram, Vijayawada, said. Meanwhile, several people have requested the state government to slash VAT, cess and additional charges on the lines of the Centre, which will reduce the fuel prices further by Rs 4 to Rs 5 per litre.
“The State government is getting 31 per cent of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol, so it is getting Rs 25 per litre plus Rs 5 under cess and additional charges. In the case of diesel, the State government is getting 22.5 per cent of the tax plus additional cess. If the state government slash some of it, prices will reduce further,” Bhargav from Vijayawada said.