Fuel prices: Nagaland cuts taxes on petrol and diesel, fuel prices come down

New Delhi, Feb 25: In a recent development, Nagaland has cut taxes on petrol and diesel and other motor spirits, bringing some relief to consumers as the retail price of petrol has come down to Rs 90.41 a litre and Rs 83.99 a litre for diesel on Wednesday.

According to the state finance department, the tax rate for diesel has been reduced from Rs 11.08 to Rs 10.51 per liter or 17.50 per cent to 16.50 per cent per liter. The reduction in fuel tax came into effect from February 22.

The price of petrol which was retailing at around Rs 93.48 and diesel at Rs 84.35 on February 21 in the state capital Kohima, before the tax cut, is being retailed at Rs 90.41 and Rs 83.99 on Wednesday, respectively.

It can be seen that the prices of petrol and diesel have been on the rise for the last month due to increasing prices of crude oil in the international market on the back of rising demand and hope after the launch of coronavirus vaccines in several countries.

Rising fuel prices have become a huge political issue in the country with the opposition targeting the government for not reducing Central taxes to bring relief to the common man. However, the Central government has termed the issue to be vexed given the need to generate revenues to meet budgetary targets after the slump due to coronavirus induced slowdown in the economy.

In some states, the price of petrol crossed ₹100 a litre due the current streak of rise in prices. The decision of the Nagaland government to cut fuel rates follows similar reductions in neighbouring states- Assam and Meghalaya.