Kolkata, Feb 21 (IANS): The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government on Sunday announced a reduction of Re 1 in tax on petrol and diesel. The cut will be applicable from midnight.
According to state Finance Minister Amit Mitra, the move will provide marginal relief to people and farmers who are facing the fuel price hike.
"The Centre earns Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol and Rs 31.80 per litre in taxes from diesel. But the state government gets only Rs 18.46 per litre in taxes from petrol and Rs 12.77 per litre in taxes from diesel," he said.
The prices of petrol and diesel saw an unprecedented hike continuously over the last 10 days. In some states, the price of petrol even crossed the Rs 100-mark.
Till February 20, the retail price of petrol went up by Rs 3.63 a litre - a record since the pricing was decontrolled in 2010. The rates of diesel also rose by Rs 3.84 over the same period.