Ahead of Polls, Assam Cuts Fuel Price By Rs 5, Liquor Duty by 25%

Assam will have the record of having the least costly petrol prices in the country after Gujarat: Himanta Biswas

The Assam government has slashed petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 5 and has reduced the duty on liqour by 25%, effective from midnight, today, on Friday, 12 February.

(Photo: iStock)

Ahead of the April-May Assembly polls, the Assam government has slashed petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 5 and has reduced the duty on liquor by 25%, effective from midnight, today, on Friday, 12 February.

Presenting the vote-on-account for six months of current fiscal, Finance Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma announced the new rates in the state Assembly today saying, “At the peak of Covid-19, we had levied an additional cess on petrol, diesel, and liquor. Now, the number of patients has reduced so the state Cabinet has decided to withdraw the additional taxes on these fuels”, quoted PTI.

“Effective from Friday midnight, prices of petrol and diesel will decrease by Rs 5 per litre. As a result, Assam will have the record of having the least costly petrol prices in the country after Gujarat. Even prices of diesel would be the lowest after Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,” said Sarma, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

This move will cause a loss of nearly Rs. 80 crore per month with the price of petrol in Assam going from Rs. 90.41 per litre to Rs. 85.41 per litre, noted Hindustan Times.

The additional 25% imposition of tax on liquor will also be relaxed.

The country has seen fuel prices at an all-time high, where it had risen 10 times in January, with the two auto fuels increasing by Rs 2.59 and Rs 2.61 per litre respectively.

Budget Proposal On Fuel Prices, Liquor Duty

The government on Monday, 1 February, imposed agriculture and infrastructure development cess at the rate of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel, to mobilise additional resources required in these two key segments of the economy.

Speaking at the post-Budget press briefing, the FM clarified that the Agri Infra Cess will not result in a price increase for consumers, as the higher cess has been adjusted with lower customs duty.

In the Budget proposal, while agriculture and infrastructure development cess at the rate of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel has been levied, the government has reduced basic excise duty (BED) on petrol from Rs 2.98 a litre to Rs 1.4 a litre and special additional excise duty (SAED) from Rs 12 a litre to Rs 11 a litre. Similarly, for diesel, BED has been reduced from Rs 4.83 a litre to Rs 1.8 a litre and BAED from Rs 9 a litre to Rs 8 a litre.

Minor correction in retail prices even after this change is expected to be absorbed by oil marketing companies, keeping consumers from any further increase in petrol and diesel prices, reported IANS.

According to The Indian Express, a similar adjustment has been made for alcoholic beverages, which currently attract 150 percent basic customs duty. This duty has now been slashed to 50 percent, even as the Budget has proposed an AIDC of 100 percent. Owing to this, there will be no price hike for the consumer, the report says.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and PTI)