Kerala FM Thomas Issac lambasts Centre for fuel price hike

KOCHI: Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac came down heavily on the Centre for raising the tax on petrol and diesel in the last few days amid a fall in crude oil prices.

"The prices of petrol and diesel have increased by around Rs 5 in the last nine days. Ever since the NDA assumed charge at the Centre, the petrol prices have gone up by over three times and the diesel prices by nearly five times," he said here on Monday.

This is despite the price of international crude oil price plunging from $108 to $38 per barrel. "The Centre raises the taxes on the fuels instead of bringing them down when the world crude oil prices fall. When the crude oil prices go up, the petroleum companies go for a price hike," he said.


The minister pointed out that the hike has been made in special excise duty, which would deny any share of the hike to the states."If it was in normal excise duty, the states would have been eligible for 40% share."

With increase in taxes and prices of fuels, the Centre has made an additional revenue of Rs 2.5 lakh crore a month, he noted."Instead of providing relief to the common man by bringing down the fuel prices, the Centre has given Rs 1.5 lakh crore tax sops to the corporates," Issac said.