Delhiites are not going to face any hike in prices of CNG, wheat and rice flour only because chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is said to have turned down this proposal while clearing the proposed budget which was passed by the Delhi Assembly on Thursday. City finance minister Manish Sisodia had on Monday tabled the budget in the Assembly in which AAP has a strength of 67 of the 70 legislators.
A highly placed source said that the Trade and Taxes department had proposed imposition of five per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on compressed natural gas (CNG) to generate an additional annual revenue of about Rs 156 crore. By imposing five per cent VAT, the price of CNG would have gone up by Rs 1.86 paise per kg. At present, the Indraprastha Gas Limited sells CNG at Rs 37.20 per kg for Delhi and Rs 42.60 per kg for the National Capital Region.
The government is also said to have received proposals for imposing VAT on wheat and rice flour. But while finalising the proposed budget, the CM himself is said to have put down his foot on imposing VAT on CNG, wheat and rice flour. He reportedly made it clear to his officers that there was no need to effect any hike on any product which would have a direct bearing on the financial health of the common man. “That’s precisely why a decision was taken to keep CNG, wheat and rice flour out of the VAT ambit,” a senior officer told this newspaper.
But political pundits think that the CM had probably taken this decision to send a clear message to neighbouring Punjab, where Assembly elections are due in the next year, that the AAP government was not in favour of putting any additional burden by way of taxes on common man who was already struggling with high inflation. The Aam Aadmi Party has been using its full might to contest all the 110 Assembly seats in Punjab. .
A spin doctor said that the AAP government’s proposed budget made it clear that Mr Kejriwal wants to provide maximum relief to the common man. “That’s precisely why he has continued with 50 per cent subsidy on tariffs for consumers consuming up to 400 units of electricity. Also, he has extended subsidy on drinking water by proposing free of cost 20 Kilo Litres of water to each household every month.”
What has, however, surprised one and all was the proposed five per cent VAT on textiles and fabrics. Ever since VAT was introduced in the city, textiles and other fabrics had never ever been taxed. “By imposing five per cent VAT, clothes like sarees and salwar kameez too would have become costlier,’’ a local Congress leader said. “But keeping in mind the Punjab elections, the government has finally withdrawn VAT on these items.”
