Amaravati: Amid the ongoing protests across the country over hike in fuel prices, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced a reduction in Value-Added Tax (VAT) of Rs 2 each on petrol and diesel prices.
The orders for the new rates of petrol and diesel will be issued later on Monday while the new rates will come into effect from Tuesday morning.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced the reduction in Value Added Tax in the state assembly. He said the state government was currently levying Rs 4 per litre VAT on petrol and diesel.
He said, "The central government has been imposing a heavy burden on people by steeply increasing the prices of petrol and diesel despite heavy income in the form of various levies and dividends."
"Though the state is faced with a deficit budget, we have decided to reduce the tax and ease the burden on people," Naidu added.
The state would have to forego a revenue of Rs 1,120 crore due to the measure, Naidu further said.
On Monday, petrol in Andhra Pradesh is being sold at Rs 85.60 while the price of diesel is at Rs 79.22 per litre.
A day before the opposition-sponsored Bharat Bandh against rising fuel prices, poll-bound Rajasthan had on Sunday slashed the VAT on petrol and diesel. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced a 4 per cent reduction which brought the prices of the two commodities down by Rs 2.5 per litre.
The prices of both petrol and diesel have been at their record high levels for around a week now, with the petrol price crossing the Rs 80 per litre mark on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI)
