West Bengal govt to reduce tax by Re 1 per litre on petrol, diesel from February 22 midnight

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The West Bengal government on Sunday announced a reduction of tax by Re 1 per litre on petrol and diesel effective from midnight of February 22.

State Finance Minister Amit Mitra said the move will provide some respite to people stung by burgeoning prices of fuel. "The Centre earned Rs 32.90 per litre in taxes from petrol (on February 20), while the state got around Rs 18.46 only. In case of diesel, the central government's earning was only Rs 31.80 per litre as against about Rs 12.77 for the state," Mitra said.

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He also alleged that the Centre had imposed cess to avoid devolution with states, which is "against the characteristics of federalism". To a question, Mitra said the Union government should reintroduce the planning commission.