Reduce sales tax on diesel in Guj, demands Truckers' Association

Ahmedabad, June 9 (UNI) Worried by the rising costs of inputs in view of the diesel price hike, the Ahmedabad Truckers' Association (ATA) today sought a sharp cut in the sales tax on diesel by Gujarat government from 26 per cent to 11 per cent, same as the Delhi's level.

''The sales tax in Delhi is low and so also that of Haryana at 13 per cent. But in Gujarat, it is pegged at a whopping 26 per cent.

This has affected diesel sales, which have dipped in the past five years,'' Association president Hari Om Sharma said.

Giving the figures, he said sales in 2000 amounted to 23,000 kilolitres, as against 19,000 kilolitres last year.

As the taxes are high here, the truckers tend to buy the fuel from these States and not from Gujarat, he rued.

On the affect of the recent hike in petrol and diesel, ATA former president Nimish Patel said, obviously the rise will have a cascading effect. ''Our costs will rise and we are not going to absorb them--they will have to be passed on to the consumers. It is going to impact the common man most.'' He said the Association will join the nation-wide token strike called by the All India Motors Congress on June 13. ''We will submit a memorandum to the Goverment, voicing our demands.'' UNI MMG GK MSJ KN1624