New Delhi. On Wednesday, PM Narendra Modi raised the issue of VAT on petrol and diesel in a meeting with the CMs of all the states on the issue of Corona. Modi had said that all the states can give relief to the general public by reducing VAT. Now in such a situation, the opposition parties have adopted this tone that first the Modi government should reduce the excise duty on petrol and diesel. Excise duty has already been reduced by the central government and VAT by BJP ruled governments. Opposition governments have not taken any step in this regard. The opposition also constantly alleges that the Modi government is earning a lot through excise. Whereas, the figures are showing that from the year 2014 to 2021, the central government has spent more on the interest of the people and other development works than what the central government earned from the tax on petrol and diesel.
So first let us see what is the game of VAT on petrol. First let’s talk about BJP ruled states. In UP, the government is charging Rs 16.50 VAT on 1 liter of petrol. In Himachal Rs 16.60, in Gujarat Rs 16.56, in Assam Rs 17.32 and in Uttarakhand Rs 14.51 VAT is being charged on a liter of petrol. Now look at the VAT figures of the opposition ruled states. In Rajasthan, VAT on 1 liter of petrol is Rs 29.10. In West Bengal, VAT is being charged at Rs 26.24. The Maharashtra government is charging Rs 32, the Kerala government Rs 27.24 and the Andhra Pradesh government Rs 31.59 on every liter of petrol.
Now talk of the opposition’s allegation that the Modi government has earned a tremendous amount by taxing petrol and diesel in the last 7 years. So the report of the Reserve Bank i.e. RBI says that the Modi government earned 26.5 lakh crores from tax on petrol and diesel between the year 2014-21. Now let’s look at the cost. During this period, the Modi government spent 90.9 lakh crores on development. Of these, 26 lakh crores have been spent on infrastructure, 25 lakh crores on food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies and 10 lakh crores on schemes like health, education, housing. That is, here also the allegation of the opposition has been dashed.