VAT hike on petrol anti-farmer, inflationary: Congress

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhry today criticised the BJP-led state government for raising Value Added Tax ( VAT) on the petrol by five per cent.

In a statement here, the former excise and taxation minister said the decision to hike VAT on petrol is "anti-farmer, anti-people and inflationary".

"This decision will have a cascading effect on the prices of farm inputs and essential commodities and will deal a twin blow on the farmers, who are already reeling under unremunerative crop prices," Choudhary said.

"Instead of bringing the common man the promised 'achhe din', the BJP government is hitting them where it hurts most," she added.

Demanding an immediate roll-back of the hike, she said the hike would put additional burden on the people of state instead of the fact that there had been a drastic decline in the prices of petroleum products in the international market.

Yesterday, an official has said that the "Haryana government has decided to amend the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on petrol from 20 per cent to 25 per cent."

With the increase in tax, the price of petrol in Haryana will jump by about Rs 2.20 per litre to Rs 59.36 a litre. Before the hike in tax, petrol was priced at Rs 57.16/litre.