Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde on Monday announced that the state government will reduce value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.

The move will come as a relief to the people of Maharashtra as fuel prices have been skyrocketing in the state. A decision will be taken on the matter in the state cabinet, Shinde told the legislative house in reply to queries after he won the floor test.

Following the assembly session, Shinde told reporters, “We will cut VAT on petroleum to provide relief to the people of Maharashtra. When the Central government comes with any state government, the speed of development increases multifold in that state. We will surely get benefit from Devendra Fadnavis's experience.”

The current price of petrol in Mumbai is Rs 111.35 per litre and diesel prices are Rs 97.28 per litre.

It may be noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in April that the Centre and states should work together. He called on states that have not followed the reduction excise duty on petrol and diesel by the Centre in November with a decrease in VAT to do so.

The PM emphasized that high taxes on petrol and diesel in these states, almost all led by opposition parties, are an injustice to people.

The Maharashtra government had cut the state levied tax on petrol and diesel by Rs 2.08 per litre and Rs 1.44 per litre at the end of May. The Union finance minister had asked states to cut down on their taxes on fuel.