Fuel pump owners in several districts of Punjab on Sunday said they would not buy fuel from oil companies from Monday till their demands are not met.
Petroleum dealers under the banner of Petrol Pump Dealers Association of Punjab have been on hunger strike in support of their demands.
They are demanding reduction in VAT on diesel and petrol, claiming that higher taxes on fuel were hitting the sales of pumps which were located near the border areas of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
They are also demanding shifting the base for retail selling rate of fuel from Panipat to Bathinda.
“From tomorrow, fuel pump dealers of nine districts in Punjab will not purchase fuel,” Association’s vice-president Ashwinder Mongia said.
Fuel pump owners of nine districts -- Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Mohali, Patiala, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mansa -- are participating in the protest.
On April 29, petroleum dealers had gone on hunger strike. “One of our dealers G S Chawla who was on hunger strike was today taken to hospital as his condition deteriorated,” Mr. Mongia said.
Fuel pump owners said Punjab was charging 17.64 per cent VAT on diesel whereas in Haryana it was 17.22 per cent. Moreover, in Himachal Pradesh, the VAT on diesel was 16 per cent.
As a result of lower VAT in neighbouring States, sale of fuel in bordering areas was affected.
Similarly, VAT on petrol in Punjab was the highest among neighbouring States including Haryana, Union Territory of Chandigarh, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.
Punjab levies 36.94 per cent VAT on petrol as against tax in 27 per cent each in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh and 26.34 in Haryana.
Despite taking up the matter with the authorities concerned in Punjab, nothing has been done to resolve their issues, they said. -- PTI
As a result of lower VAT in neighbouring States, sale of
fuel is affected
