Petrol prices to increase in Goa

Goa government has decided to implement 5% VAT on petrol in Goa because of which petrol prices will go up to Rs. 55-56 per litre.

Don’t worry, this news is not as disturbing as it sounds. BJP earlier had said that it will abolish Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol in Goa, but now taking a U-turn, it has decided to reverse the decision.

Confirming the news, Laxmikant Parsekar, Chief Minister of Goa said, “We will implement five per cent value added tax (VAT) on petrol. We have noticed that the cost of petrol is lesser than diesel in Goa, which is not fair. The state government will impose five per cent VAT on petrol so that its price is little more than diesel.”

The attempt is to match the prices of petrol and diesel.

“At present, petrol prices in Goa are the lowest. Petrol per litre is costing Rs 53 and diesel Rs 55. The imposition of VAT will hike petrol prices to Rs 55-56 per litre,” Mr. Parsekar added.

The government had decided to abolish VAT after BJP won the elections in the state in 2012.

"We had abolished VAT because petrol prices were rising and it was anti-inflation measure. The decision to abolish VAT was received well by people and the government was appreciated for it. But if you look at the current situation, petrol prices are reducing. Also inflation is under control, so there is no requirement to abolish VAT," Mr. Parsekar said.

This move is expected to raise Rs. 70-75 crores in the state treasury that had been suffering after abolition of VAT on petrol.