Mumbai car owners save Rs 400-200 at fuel pumps, BJP wants relief from Maharashtra too – Times of India

MUMBAI: After the Centre finally announced duty cuts, Mumbaikars who filled up the tanks of their cars ended up saving at least Rs 435 on diesel and Rs 205 on petrol as prices dropped by a little over Rs 12 per litre for diesel and around Rs 6 per litre for petrol on Thursday.
Pump owners, on the other hand, complained of losses up to Rs 10 crore as they had stocked huge quantities of fuel three days ago at the “hefty rates”.

Once the Centre reduced excise duty by Rs 5 (petrol) and Rs 10 (diesel), the VAT automatically reduced by over a rupee and over Rs 2.40 for petrol and diesel, respectively, said dealers.
Asked if the state government has plans of offering a similar cut in duties, a senior bureaucrat said: “Nothing as of now. The VAT got reduced due to the ad valorem effect. Rate of VAT taxation is the same at present.”
Former CM Devendra Fadnavis tweeted: “Our request to Maharashtra government that diesel and petrol cost can be reduced by Rs 20 and Rs 10, respectively, in the state like we reduced earlier during our government.” Dealers too demanded reduction in VAT and surcharge.

On Thursday, the drop in diesel price in Mumbai by Rs 12.48 per litre was highest among all metros. The reduction has taken the price of diesel to what it was during the second week of this June and petrol to what it was in the second week of October.
“It is a great beginning for the Diwali weekend as I fill up my SUV’s tank with diesel. I am excited to see the rate drop by 12% overnight and this means big savings,” said Sunil Karandikar, an IT professional in Bhandup who drives to work. Bikers too saved at least 5% of what they would pay the previous day.
Petrol pump owners were left sulking. “Diesel dealers on the highways and outskirts of the city suffered huge losses on Thursday as they had stocked much more than the petrol stock,” said former Petrol Dealers Association president Ravi Shinde. The dealers are upset as their commission has not been revised for nearly five years, and now it has further dropped due to the duty cuts.
The price of petrol in neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai was Rs 110.12 and diesel Rs 94.28 on Thurday. Parbhani has the highest petrol rate in Maharashtra even after it came down to Rs 113.17. The highest diesel rate in Amravati dropped from Rs 108.22 to Rs 95.74 per litre.
Bal Malkit Singh from the All India Motor Transport Congress told mediapersons that prices could further go down if the VAT and taxes in Maharashtra were brought on par with neighbouring states.