Protest in Maharashtra for fuel tax cut

New Delhi: More than 2500 petrol pumps in Maharashtra will stop buying stock from Monday as a part of an indefinite protest.

Petrol pump dealers want a cut in the sales tax on petrol products – this should be reduced from the present 34 per cent to 24 per cent, matching Gujarat's rate dealers had gone on a similar strike in September.

The existing stock at the petrol pumps will last for the next two or three days.

"Around 2,700 petrol pumps in Maharashtra are likely to be affected from Tuesday since the petrol dealers have not been purchasing fresh stock of petrol and diesel from November 17," Ravi Shinde, president, Petrol Dealers Association (PDA), Mumbai said.

Federation of All Maharashtra Petrol Dealers Association have called for indefinite no-purchase in protest of high sales tax of 34 per cent in the state, which is highest in the country.

"The negotiations with the Maharashtra Government has not progressed and our demand is to bring down the sales tax by 10 per cent to 24 per cent, at par with the state of Gujarat," said Shinde.

Among the other demands of the petrol dealers are to remove licence fee on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

"PDA had gone on a similar protest action just two months back on September 18 to 19 and later had called off their no-purchase on assurances from the state Government to look into the matter," said Shinde.

With Agency inputs