AIZAWL: The Mizoram government has hiked prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 4 per litre each with effect from September 1.
State Taxation Minister Dr. Vanlalthlana said that the hike would be used for social infrastructure and road maintenance.
He said the state government decided to increase the fuel prices for the benefit and welfare of the people.
“The government imposed a new levy of Rs 2 per litre on both diesel and petrol for social infrastructure and services cess, and an additional Rs 2 per litre for road maintenance,” the minister said.
According to Dr Vanlalthlana, the Rs 4 per litre fuel increase would promote a sense of ownership among citizens towards the infrastructure development and maintenance efforts of the government.
He further asserted that even after the recent VAT increase and new cess, fuel prices are still lower than they were in 2021.
The minister explained that the decision aligns with the recommendations of the State Resource Mobilisation Committee, which was tasked with identifying methods to boost the revenue.
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In a notification issued recently, the state government increased VAT on petrol from 5.23 percent to 10 percent and on diesel from 16.36 percent to 18 percent.
With the additional levies, the current price of petrol in Aizawl is Rs 99.24 per litre, while a litre of diesel costs Rs 88.02, up from the previous Rs 93.93 and Rs 82.62 respectively.