The Federation of All Maharashtra Petrol and Diesel Association (Fampeda) has declared an indefinite strike from August 26 stating that the government has refused to conduct talks regarding reduction of taxes on petrol and diesel.
The federation has claimed that Rs 5 to Rs 6 per litre can be reduced for both the fuels if the government agrees to address the issue.
Fampeda president Uday Lodh said, “Maharashtra has higher diesel and petrol rates than any other state in the country. We asked the government to reduce VAT from the current 21 per cent to 18 per cent. Truck drivers currently fill only
50 litres of diesel and petrol and head to other states like Gujarat and fill around 300 litres because it’s cheaper. Reducing taxes will actually increase the state government’s revenue, hike our sales and the end user will also benefit.”
The federation’s demands also include reducing Local Body Tax (LBT) on diesel to the rate of gold, which is 0.1 per cent, and a uniform tax across the state.
Mr Lodh said that the government has refused to meet them after the financial secretary Sudhir Kumar Srivastav met with them on July 8. “We have repeatedly tried to get an appointment with them, but after that one meeting no one in the government has shown any interest,” he added.
