Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Oct 1: Petrol and diesel sales shot-up in Karnataka after the state government abolished 5 per cent entry tax on the fuels during the roll-out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1.

The fuel outlets near the state borders have been trying to woo inter-state vehicles. The abolition of entry tax in Karnataka brought down the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 3.37 (from Rs 67.61 to Rs 64.24) and Rs 2.79 (from Rs 57.02 to Rs 54.23) respectively in Karnataka from July 1.

This has resulted in 9 per cent growth in diesel sales and 6.5 per cent growth in petrol sales.

State Commercial Taxes Commissioner Ritvik Ranjan Pandey was quoted by a newspaper saying Karnataka will lose about Rs 2,000 crore a year following the scrapping of entry tax.

A couple of years ago, the situation was quite the opposite. Transport operators had cried foul as petroleum products were priced the highest in Karnataka.

However, currently the growth in diesel sales is spectacular. Trucks and buses which form a major chunk of inter-state operations have contributed to the increase in sales.