By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 31, 2019: The Odisha government has collected Rs 5,571.34 crore Value Added Tax (VAT) from petrol and diesel in the financial year 2018-19, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told the state Assembly on Wednesday.

Replying to a question from Congress MLA Suresh Kumar Routray, the minister said Rs 1,082.64 crore VAT had been collected from the two items in 2019-20 (up to June 2019). While Rs 317 crore has been collected as VAT from petrol in 2019-20, Rs 765.64 crore has been collected from diesel, the Minister said.

In 2018-19, Rs 5,571.34 crore VAT was collected from petrol and diesel. While the collection was Rs 4,042.56 crore from VAT on diesel, the total VAT collected on petrol in 2018-19 was 1,528.78 crore, Swain informed the Assembly.

The Minister also said that the state government has not increased VAT on petrol and diesel since January 2016 to keep the prices of petrol and diesel stable.