Dealers In National Capital To Shut Petrol Pumps On Oct. 22

Delhi Petrol Dealers Association today said all 400-odd petrol pumps in the national capital will remain closed on Oct. 22 in protest against the Delhi government's refusal to cut VAT on petrol and diesel.

"There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked CNG pumps with them. Both will remain closed in protest from 6:00 a.m. on Oct. 22 and remain closed till 5:00 a.m. on Oct. 23," the association said in a statement here.

It said the Union government on Oct. 4 slashed the petrol and diesel price by Rs 2.50 per litre by reducing excise duty and asking state-owned oil firms to bear subsidy. This was matched by several states which reduced local sales tax or VAT.

Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which border the national capital, have reduced VAT, the association said. "But Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on fuel both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh."

In comparison to Delhi, petrol in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana is cheaper by Rs 2.59 and Rs 1.95 per litre, respectively. Diesel in these two states is cheaper by Rs 2.02 and Rs 1.72 per litre, respectively.

"Because of high price in Delhi and low prices in states like UP and Haryana, customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to huge drop in sales," it said.