RANCHI: State minister for food and civil supplies, public distribution and consumer affairs Saryu Rai on Wednesday urged chief minister Raghubar Das to waive a share of the value added tax levied by Jharkhand government on a liter of petrol and diesel.Rai, who met representatives of Jharkhand Petroleum Dealers Association in the evening before dispatching the letter to the CM, urged the latter to slash VAT by 4% to provide relief to customers and help petrol pumps to draw customers from nearby states.“Jharkhand government levies 22% in VAT, which has made petroleum products more expensive than nearby states. If VAT of up to 4.5% is waived, the prices of a liter of petrol and diesel will come down by at least Rs 2,” Rai wrote in his letter.Notably, the price of a liter of petrol crossed Rs 80 mark in Ranchi and different cities of Jharkhand last week, triggering discontent among the general public, transporters and trading communities. Political parties in the opposition also demanded a waiver in VAT. However, the Jharkhand government is yet to announce any step on providing immediate relief to customers from inflated prices.“The drop in petrol prices due to reduction in VAT is likely to attract customers from bordering states in petrol pumps of Jharkhand and companies will also purchase from the dealers of the state, causing higher revenue collection for the government,” Rai wrote. There was no reaction from the CM’s office on Rai’s letter till late evening.Notably, the JPDA in a state level meeting held in Hazaribag early this week, announced that petrol pumps across Jharkhand will go on indefinite strike from October 1 if the state government did not slash VAT being levied on petrol and diesel. The JPDA will take a final call on the strike after meeting Das on Thursday, it had said.

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