New tax on domestic LPG in Maharashtra rolled back

Mumbai, March 30 (IANS) Buckling under pressure from all political parties and the public, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar Thursday effected a marginal rollback of a new tax he had levied in the state budget four days ago.

"The proposed five percent VAT on domestic LPG has been reduced and it would now be only three percent," Pawar informed the state legislature.

The five pecent VAT on domestic LPG would have hiked the cost of a LPG cylinder by around Rs.20, earning the state exchequer additional revenue of upto Rs.2.50 billion per annum, though putting a substantial burden on citizens' pockets.

Last Tuesday, a day after the state budget 2012-13 was presented by Pawar, state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre led a delegation to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, demanding withdrawal of the tax.

Incidentally, legislators from Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party also joined the chorus for the rollback as it would hit the common man while the opposition parties had threatened to launch statewide agitations protesting the hike.

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray warned of a protest march while Bharatiya Janata Party's Vinod Tawade, leader of opposition in the Legislative Council has already launched state-wide sit-ins and demonstrations demanding the withdrawal of the tax.