Despite being home to as many as 4 oil refineries, petrol and diesel prices in Assam is more than that in the neighbouring State of Meghalaya, which has no oil refinery.
There are as many as 4 oil refineries in Assam – Digboi, Numaligarh, Guwahati and Bongaigaon.
However, the prices of petrol and diesel in Assam is more than that in Meghalaya.
The price of petrol and diesel in Guwahati now is Rs 86.46 per litre, and Rs 80.62 per litre respectively, which is way more than the price in Shillong.
On the other hand, the Meghalaya Government on Tuesday announced a major cut in the prices of petrol and diesel.
On Tuesday, the Meghalaya Government decided to reduce the petrol price further by Rs.5.4 per litre and diesel by Rs. 5.1 per litre.
This reduction in prices of petrol and diesel comes just days after the Meghalaya Government had announced a rebate of Rs 2 per litre in the prices of petrol and diesel.
“In addition to the previous rebate of Rs. 2 per litre, Government has decided to reduce the petrol price further by Rs.5.4 per litre and diesel by Rs. 5.1 per litre to offer relief to consumers of #Meghalaya with slight variations in other Districts,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Tuesday.
In addition to the previous rebate of Rs. 2 per litre, Government has decided to reduce the petrol price further by Rs.5.4 per litre and diesel by Rs. 5.1 per litre to offer relief to consumers of #Meghalaya with slight variations in other Districts.
— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) February 16, 2021
“In spite of the State facing financial constraint, the Government has reduced the VAT for petrol from Rs 17.60 per litre to Rs 15 per litre. The VAT on diesel has also been reduced from Rs 12.50 per litre to Rs 9 per litre,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said.
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The Meghalaya Chief Minister further informed that the State tries to keep the prices of petrol and diesel lower than that in Assam so as to increase the sales in the Ri Bhoi district, which is located adjacent to Guwahati.
“As we keep maintaining our competitive pricing with Guwahati, we hope that and our sales will go up,” Conrad Sangma said.
Notably, many people in Guwahati opt to fill up the tanks of their vehicles in Meghalaya’s Ri Bhoi district as the fuel prices in the neighbouring Meghalaya is much lower than that in Assam.
Last week, the prices of petrol and diesel were reduced in Assam by Rs 5 following the announcement by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
But, even after the reduction, the prices of petrol and diesel in Assam continues to the way more than that in Meghalaya.
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TAX SURGE:
Notably, since the BJP came to power in the Centre in 2014, taxes, duties and commissions levied on the purchases of petrol and diesel has increased by a whopping 133 per cent.
Taxes levied by the Centre alone has increased by as much as 217 percent since May 2014 till February 2021.
| PRICES CATEGORY | MAY 2014 | FEBRUARY 2021 |
| Base price (in Delhi) | Rs 47.12 | Rs 29.34 |
| Central tax | Rs 10.39 | Rs 32.98 |
| State tax | Rs 11.90 | Rs 19.92 |
| Dealers’ commission | Rs 2.00 | Rs 3.69 |
| MRP | Rs 71.41 | Rs 86.30 |