The sales tax on petrol was reduced by 2.5 per cent from 27 per cent to 24.5 per cent and 1.64 percent on ordinary and high speed diesel from 20 per cent to 18.36 per cent, the commissioner-cum-secretary of commercial taxes department, Shubhkirti Mazumdar said.
Sales tax on cooking gas was not reduced as LPG is a 'declared commodity' under central sales tax, he said. The state-run oil companies have been informed of the step and they would accordingly work out the retail prices, Mazumdar said.
The ordinance, promulgated early today, follows Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's promise yesterday to mitigate the impact of the hike in prices of fuel.
Kumar had assailed the Centre for the steep hike in fuel prices yesterday, saying it would further fuel inflation and have a cascading effect on prices of various commodities that would adversely impact development.
"It is unfortunate that the Centre raised the prices of petroleum products without taking any measure to avoid passing on the huge burden to the consumers who are not in a position to afford it," he had said.
