Delhis 400-odd private petrol and diesel pumps will stop selling fuel for 24 hours starting from midnight today to protest against the increased Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel implemented from April 1. The governments move has hiked the VAT rate on diesel to 20 per cent from the earlier 12.5 per cent. President of the 415-member Delhi Petrol Dealers Association Atul Peshawaria said the dealers were already suffering an 80 per cent drop in sales,claiming 100 to 150 pumps have already become unviable. The dealers demanded that the VAT rate across state borders between Delhi and neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh be made uniform. The association members also clarified that while the shutdown will be only for a day,they will intensify their agitation if the government fails to comply with their demands. Peshawaria said,We will consider decreasing manpower,making night shifts non-operational,a day off every week and withdrawal of free services like window-wiping,filling up tyres and toilet facilities. While state-owned fuel and CNG pumps will remain open as usual,the 100-odd privately owned CNG stations will also be shut. Peshawaria said they were compelled to take this step after half a dozen meetings with the Delhi government were fruitless. We have been informing the people for several days now. They are not unprepared. We are fighting for all Delhi citizens who are affected by this fuel price hike, he added. Delhi is one of the few cities that have introduced low sulphur Euro-IV diesel. The big difference in the VAT rate across Delhi,Haryana and UP will encourage people to buy Euro-III diesel from neighbouring states. The amount of Rs 32,000 crore that was used to develop Euro-IV will go to waste. This might also encourage black marketing and smuggling of diesel from the neighbouring states, dealer Gauravjit Singh Kochhar said. Delhi Finance Minister Dr A K Walia,meanwhile,justified the hike saying the government revenue had to be raised for the Commonwealth Games. We want to discourage the use of diesel for private transportation in Delhi. VAT rate for diesel is lower in neighbouring states as it is an essential fuel for agricultural purposes. The state exchequer was incurring a loss of Rs 350 crore a year since 2005 due to Delhi maintaining a VAT rate of 12.5 per cent,although the recommendation made in 2005 was for a uniform rate of 20 per cent, he added.
