Fuel hike hits Bangalore worst as petrol rises to Rs74.50 per litre

Be ready to cough up Rs74.50 for a litre of petrol as Bangalore was the worst hit by the Rs3.14 hike in petrol prices which came into effect from Friday midnight.

This is mainly because of the high percentage of sales tax, surcharge and entry tax.

“The state-owned oil companies assured us that they would hike petrol price by Rs3. But they have cheated us by raising it further. Even that 14 paise comes heavily on our budgets,” said an angry biker Ananth Iyer.

Iyer is luckier than owners of four-wheelers, especially luxury or sedan class cars which do not give sound mileage.

“I bought a new luxury car after 15 years but the frequent petrol price hikes may finally force me to permanently keep my new car at home,” said R Shetty, a businessman and resident of Thanisandra.

He said these were social indicators to push towards cycling and the state government should start giving impetus to cycling tracks in Bangalore.

As the news of the petrol price hike spread, vehicle owners began to make a beeline to more than 150 petrol filling stations across the city. Employees of some of the filling stations were seen persuading customers to fill their tanks before midnight.

Bangaloreans will be the worst hit by the price hike, said Bhushan Narang, chairman of Bangalore Petrol Dealers Association and Akhila Karnataka Petroleum Traders Association.

“Only Karnataka charges the high percentage of sales tax and surcharge. It also charges entry tax which is not there in any other state. The state government never bothered to reduce the tax percentage despite repeated appeals by petroleum traders,” he said.

Entry tax is a tax paid for the entry of crude oil into a state or country which is normally five percent of the selling price. Naranag said the state had not reduced the percentage of sales tax and surcharge because it was easy money for them.

“The state is milking the common man by way of taxing more on each product including petroleum products. The hike in petrol prices thrice this year is good for the state government but hits the common man hard,” Narang said.

“Many people drive out of the state to places like Hosur to fill their tanks as it saves them a lot of money. The state government does not realise that a lot of their money is flowing into neighbouring states,” he said.