Vote on account to be tabled in Assam Assembly next month! Petrol, diesel & liquor may become cheap

Jan. 2: Assam is expected to go to Assembly polls in April/May 2021. As such, instead of a full budget, the state government is likely to present a vote on account in the state assembly next month. State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hinted that the additional Covid taxes imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 will be withdrawn while the state government will present the vote on account. This may witness fall in the prices of petrol, diesel and liquor in Assam.

After the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in 2020, a nationwide lockdown was imposed by the Union government. This had hit hard the economy. In order to generate revenue, Assam government in April 2020 hiked the price of petrol from Rs 71.61 to Rs 77.46 per litre, and diesel from Rs 65.07 to Rs 70.50 per litre. Apart from this, the state government also increased excise duty on Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) by 25 percent.

So now after the phenomenon of unlock has begun, the economy has started to revive. As such, if the Covid taxes levied on these products are withdrawn during the presentation of the vote on account, than in all probability, the prices of petrol, diesel and liquor will come down in Assam!

In a tweet on Friday, Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, “For 270+ days, I’ve shared #Covid updates. With a positivity rate of below 0.5%, & considering life is back to pre-Covid times including opening of schools & colleges, I shall discontinue the same from today except for special information.”