West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday ruled out any reduction in State taxes on fuel in the wake of the Union government reducing excise duty on petrol by ₹8 a litre and diesel by ₹6 a litre.
The Chief Minister explained that owing to the Centre’s excise duty cut, the State would incur a loss of ₹1.80 on a litre of petrol and a loss of ₹1.03 on a litre of diesel. Ms. Banerjee also pointed out that earlier (February 2021), the State government had reduced the price of petrol and diesel by ₹1 a litre and because of the cumulative effect, the State was losing ₹2.80 a litre on petrol and ₹2.03 on diesel. According to the Chief Minister, the State exchequer is expected to lose ₹1,141 crore a year because of these reductions.