Ahmedabad: Petro and diesel prices have come down sharply in Gujarat, providing much needed relief to fuel consumers.
On Wednesday evening, the central government announced an excise duty cut of Rs. 5 per litre on petrol, and a reduction of Rs. 10 per litre on diesel with effect from November 4. The Centre also urged states to commensurately reduce VAT on the two fuels to give relief to consumers.
Within hours, the Gujarat government announced a reduction of Rs. 7 in VAT on petrol and diesel.
“Following the Central government’s decision to lower excise duty, the state government has also decided to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs. 7 per litre,” the Gujarat government said in a statement just before midnight.
The twin measures effectively bringing down petrol price in the state by Rs. 12 a litre, and diesel price by Rs. 17 a litre.
From nearly Rs. 107 per litre yesterday, petrol price in Gujarat would come down to around Rs. 95 due to the lowering of levies, while diesel price would decline from Rs. 106.5 per litre to around Rs. 90 per litre.
The reduction in excise duty comes a day after the BJP suffered losses in by-elections in several states.
