ONI Bureau: After the Centre slashed the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.5 and allowed Oil Marketing Companies to absorb another Re 1, making it Rs 2.5 reduction per litre, the fuel prices went down by Rs 3.15 per litre.
As per the Odisha Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera, there would be automatic reduction of 65 paise when the tax calculation are made following the fuel price cut by the Centre. That makes it Rs 3.15 per litre. The Odisha Government will review the appeal made by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and then take a decision whether the Odisha Govt would reduce its VAT component or not.
Several BJP-ruled States, including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Tripura have already slashed the VAT by Rs 2.5 per litre, making petrol and diesel cheaper by Rs 5 per litre.