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In Delhi pay Rs 1.75 more to buy 1 kg of CNG, petrol price slashed by Rs 1.36

First it was petrol cars and now it is the turn of CNG cars such as Maruti Wagon R CNG, Maruti SX4 Green VXI, Maruti Zen Estilo Green LXI or Maruti Eeco 5 Seater CNG HTR. Now, people have to shell out more to buy CNG to fill their vehicle’s fuel tanks in Delhi. In a balancing act, the government of New Delhi has increased Value Added Tax (VAT) on CNG, while reducing it slightly on petrol sale. A couple of days ago, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit gave some relief to the people after the Centre announced a hike of Rs 7.50 per litre by announced a slash in VAT for petrol by 20%. The cut on VAT by 20% has resulted in decrease of Rs 1.36 per litre in petrol price. After the cut on VAT, the petrol is being sold in Delhi at Rs 71.93 per litre.

Now, to balance the loss of revenue incurred due to cut on VAT on petrol, Dikshit has increased VAT on CNG. The CNG is an alternate mode of fuel available in Delhi, which has been promoted as green fuel. As most of the public transport buses and auto rickshaws are using CNG as a fuel, they will have to shell out more money to buy CNG in Delhi. The Delhi government has increased VAT on CNG by 5%. The 5% of VAT would be equal to around Rs 1.75 as the CNG in Delhi is being sold at Rs 35.45 per kilogram.

So, in Delhi, not only the prices of petrol have increased but CNG has also become expensive. The increase in CNG prices contradict the statement of petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy, who had claimed that the CNG and diesel prices will remain the same and not be increased as of now.

However, the experts believe that it is not an intelligent move of the government to increase VAT on CNG. The Delhi government tried to show sympathy towards people by reducing petrol prices by a small amount but on the other hand it increased the prices of CNG.