PUNJAB PETROL PUMP DEALERS WITHDRAW HUNGER STRIKE AS GOVT GETS INTO ACTION TO RATIONALISE VAT

PUNJAB PETROL PUMP DEALERS WITHDRAW HUNGER STRIKE AS GOVT GETS INTO ACTION TO RATIONALISE VAT

Technical Education Minister Charanjit Channi meets agitating petrol pump dealers on behalf of state govt, says govt working towards VAT parity as CM has himself intervened and asked the Chief Secretary to look into the matter, submit a detailed report

Channi personally offers juice to association members to bring 5-day hunger strike to end

PPDAP, however, cautions that it will resume the agitation if govt goes back on its word

Nabaz-e-Punjab Bureau, Mohali, January 27:
In a moral victory for the Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association of Punjab (PPDAP), Punjab Technical Education and Industrial Training Minister Charanjit Singh Channi today met the agitating petrol pump dealers on behalf of the state government and assured them that the government had taken up their demand for rationalisation of VAT on petrol and diesel.
Requesting the PPDAP to end its indefinite hunger strike, which entered the fifth day on Saturday, Channi told the Association that the government was in favour of bringing VAT on petrol and diesel on a par with neighbouring states. PPDAP President Paramjit Singh Doaba called off the hunger strike after Channi personally offered juice to him, Mr GS Chawla, Spokesperson, PPDAP and other association members to break their fast at the Chawla petrol pump in Phase VII, Mohali.
Stating that the issue has been discussed in a Cabinet meeting and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has himself intervened and initiated action on it, Channi told PPDAP members that the CM has directed the Chief Secretary to look into the matter on priority and submit a detailed report. “We feel the pain of petrol pump dealers of Punjab. Fully aware how a higher VAT is causing revenue losses to Punjab, we are committed to bringing VAT parity in the region. We are working towards it and will come up with a solution soon,” he said.
Channi said he failed to understand why the Central government was not bringing essential commodities like petrol and diesel under GST. “This disparity needs to end. While Punjab government is fully committed to bringing about parity in VAT on petrol and diesel in the region, we urge the central government to meet its ‘one nation, one tax’ commitment by bringing petrol and diesel under GST,” he added.
Thanking the state government for appreciating the genuine concerns of petrol pump dealers in the state and accepting their demands, Doaba said, “This is a major moral victory for us. The draconian VAT policy has depleted the state treasury and hit our businesses hard to the extent that the livelihood of thousands of petrol pump employees across the state is under threat.”
Doaba, however, cautioned that the PPDAP would resume its statewide agitation if the government went back on its assurance. “We will regroup again if the government does not keep its word,” he said.
The PPDAP had launched a statewide agitation by going on an indefinite hunger strike on January 23 to press the Punjab government to bring VAT on petrol and diesel on a par with neighbouring states. It has been impressing upon the government that this VAT disparity is causing huge revenue losses to Punjab to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore per annum on account of diversion of business to neighbouring states and smuggling. Claiming that a higher VAT in Punjab has set the state exchequer back by Rs 40,000 crore in the past 17 years, the association has termed it a “scam of enormous proportions being operated at taxation authorities’ behest”.
In a massive show of strength, hundreds of petrol pump dealers from all over Punjab had gathered at the Phase VII petrol pump in the past five days to join the agitation in support of parity in VAT rates.
Thanking the association members for their support, PPDAP Spokesperson and owner of the Phase VII pump G.S. Chawla said, “We are happy that we could effectively get across our message to the government. We thank the government for agreeing to our rightful demands. The VAT disparity has not only brought us and our employees to our knees, but has also left Punjab reeling under heavy revenue losses. With today’s assurance from the government, we are hoping for a better future for the petrol pump dealers and our employees. We also request the state government to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking directions to the Chandigarh administration to rationalise its unreasonably low VAT rates, which have put many pumps in neighbouring district on the brink of closure.”