[aniketi]

Very surprising to see people bashing government for hike. Please understand that government is going to lose large income from taxes in March & it will continue for few months ahead. Economy is in danger and they need to feed many sectors now to save jobs and people. If we get petrol or diesel 5-10 Rs cheaper, will it really affect our budget ? No. But saving sectors will save large number of jobs and will save economy all together. Try to understand.

[fiestarry]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Just like how the fuel help to "fund Covid-19 Fight" when the directive is to confine in their homes as much as possible.

The administration comprises of very well educated bureaucrats who are the steel skeleton of the Govt machinery. Let us not let our personal bias come to the fore here.
Since none of the levies collected are going to someone's pocket, we must give the Govt the time to understand and explore options.

[roy_libran]

Correct decision by the government!

Personal travel doesn't need any incentivization at this time, rather needs to be disincentivized.
It needs to get additional revenue from somewhere and this is an appropriate avenue.

[sgiitk]

Now the excise can be hiked by up to Rs.8 per litre. It is painful but probably inevitable. The global economy is in a tailspin.

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by aniketi

Very surprising to see people bashing government for hike. Please understand that government is going to lose large income from taxes in March & it will continue for few months ahead. Economy is in danger and they need to feed many sectors now to save jobs and people. If we get petrol or diesel 5-10 Rs cheaper, will it really affect our budget ? No. But saving sectors will save large number of jobs and will save economy all together. Try to understand.

If this "Sly Trick" by the Government was not a regular feature but only a one-time activity given the pandemic situation we are facing and its expected adverse impact on the economy, then EVERYONE would show a lot more understanding and patience. But this is a regular feature. If government is not doing its job correctly and managing its finances, why should the common man pay. Honestly as a tax-paying citizen, I already pay 30% as income tax and upto 18% on GST on a number of services when using my post-tax income. Increasing excise duty on fuel is like hitting the nail on the coffin.

And contrary to your expectations, it is not the affluent class driving cars that will get benefited by a fuel rate cut. But a cut in diesel prices specifically will have a cascading impact on reducing inflation. Trucking/Railways which uses diesel for mass transport will become much cheaper and will result in tangible benefits for the poor class. Ideally, if we had restricted diesel usage only for commercial and public transportation, we would be very well equipped to execute it.

[ramzsys]

In the february 2020 sales chart of 2 wheelers, Honda activa overtook Hero Splendor to become the largest selling 2 wheeler in this country.

Considering the real world FE of both (50 kmpl Vs 70 kmpl), seems fuel cost isn't a bother for the common man?

Or is that common man of India not able to afford a 2 wheeler still? Who exactly is this common man?

[Yeldo]

Two things are common factors across the globe:

1) The Corona pandemic puts a heavy strain on Government finances in every country.

2) Crude prices are at very low levels.

If the governments world over are increasing taxes on fuel and finding it as a source of additional revenue to fight the pandemic, then our Government is justified in this duty hike.

If not, defending this tax hike would require political affiliation and vehement support would require even higher level of political commitment.

[mh09ad5578]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Honda activa overtook Hero Splendor to become the largest selling 2 wheeler in this country.
Or is that common man of India not able to afford a 2 wheeler still? Who exactly is this common man?

OT but the BS6 Honda Activa costs more than the Splendor at Rs 99k in maharashtra and more than that in Karnataka. Of course its not the common man who is buying it. Common man is the person using the share auto and the public transport. And he could do very well with the lower fuel prices, in transportation and day to day commodity expenses.

Why did the government deregulate fuel prices in the first place if it was to keep adjusting the prices to suit it in the fist place? No I am really peeved at this excess taxation. This is government high handedness. They know they can get away with anything and this is them doing it.

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by aniketi

Very surprising to see people bashing government for hike. Please understand that government is going to lose large income from taxes in March & it will continue for few months ahead. Economy is in danger and they need to feed many sectors now to save jobs and people. If we get petrol or diesel 5-10 Rs cheaper, will it really affect our budget ? No. But saving sectors will save large number of jobs and will save economy all together. Try to understand.

Sure, raise the taxes.
Just ensure that vanity projects are postponed at a time when health, education, R&D and welfare budgets are strained. Spending 20,000 cr on redeveloping the parliament area at this time when lakhs, possibly crores, of unorganized sector employees are jobless, is more brazen than anything the civilized world has seen in recent times.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by mh09ad5578

They know they can get away with anything and this is them doing it.

Finally, someone has nailed it after everyone has been thrashing around in circles.

Like I said many pages ago on this thread:

Originally Posted by locusjag

The (sl)eaziest thing a politician can do is to sell fish to wolves.

The ones who force carrots down wolves throats because of certain compulsions have obviously bit the bullet and are willing to face the heat eventually so that their immediate objectives are met. And they're up there in their ivory towers while we're down here, fangs bared, paws swiping and howling away into the night.

If you can change whatever's happening right now with fuel pricing, do it. Others should focus on what they can change right now and leave the rest to the wind. We're really going around in circles and it's sad to see our magnificent members thrashing themselves senseless on this thread.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by aniketi

Very surprising to see people bashing government for hike. Please understand that government is going to lose large income from taxes in March & it will continue for few months ahead. Economy is in danger and they need to feed many sectors now to save jobs and people. If we get petrol or diesel 5-10 Rs cheaper, will it really affect our budget ? No. But saving sectors will save large number of jobs and will save economy all together. Try to understand.

Ok, Corona hit us now. But, they had been raising their tax share steadily since 2017. Lost count how many times they raised taxes on MOP, denying people the benefit of cheaper fuel the whole world enjoyed. If I remember correctly, around 2013-14 crude traded at 158 USD barrel and the then Govt sold petrol at around 74. Today, it's around USD 30, roughly. But petrol retails at almost same price. Imagine the amount of money the Govt. has been making since 2016-17 when crude had crashed to an all time low of around USD 27.

Despite collecting so much by way of taxes, they don't seem to loosen their purse strings for anyone. Even in the darkest of the times. Pretty soon, PM will call on everyone to make sacrifices for the nation. Salaried will be asked to donate one month's pay. Industrialists would be asked to donate generously. That's ok. But what about GOI? What are they spending on? Some may say they're spending on BPL families. Then there are BPL families who say they haven't gotten benefit of any of the various schemes Govt. keeps announcing from time to time. We hear about US paying USD 2000 per month and UK paying 2500 per month to affected people. These Govt.s' are spending their tax money on their citizens. Should our Govt. not spend in the need of hour? Already, they have collected huge fortune on fuel taxes. Asking people to make sacrifices is ok but Govt. should also bear some of the burden.

[nagr22]

I think the discussion happening here is a bit premature. The government has only increased it's ceiling to levy the duty and not the duty itself. It will definitely be raised someday so let's hold back our guns for now and save some bullets to fire when it really happens.

Personally, I feel even if the government had passed on the lower fuel prices to the consumer, the inflation in essential commodity prices due to this lockdown would have nullified it. Even for personal use most of us would have maximum saved money for 1 tankful if not less because we don't know how much longer the lockdown is going to be.

Once the corona crisis is over, if the Russian and OPEC economies are battered, they will naturally increase the crude price and that will be a tough time for our already battered economy. So I support any amount of revenue that the government rakes up now as long as it is used for good. If they don't do this, we will be soon discussing in a thread titled 'Why doesn't governments plan for the rainy day?'

Peace.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

...we must give the Govt the time to understand and explore options.

Auto, real estate, small and medium scale business, unorganised business - lot of sectors were affected by the disaster happened by their own "planned" mistake - the demonitisation. They have not yet explored the options to come out it even after 3 years. Do you still believe they can do something for this unplanned disaster called corona? Atleast to the automobile industry?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Auto, real estate, small and medium scale business, unorganised business - lot of sectors were affected by the disaster happened by their own "planned" mistake - the demonitisation. They have not yet explored the options to come out it even after 3 years. Do you still believe they can do something for this unplanned disaster called corona? Atleast to the automobile industry?

I have serious doubts that any measure being introduced is going to go beyond cosmetic. The Indian economy has seen two self inflicted disasters in demo and GST - and we now have Coronavirus to contend with. The measures announced today by the hon'ble FM such as removing minimum balance requirements and postponing the end of financial year date are, as an auditor friend described it to me, "cough syrup to treat lung cancer".

For example, without announcing a moratorium on EMIs and penal interest / recovery procedures / SARFAESI on non payment, this is going to be a non starter. I am not sure how owners of shut down businesses are going to be able to continue paying salary while at the same time regularly servicing bank loans. We are going to see a great many units fold and get nationalized if they employ too many people, or just release a very large number of unemployed onto the market.

Raising duties on fuel amidst plummeting fuel prices due to the opec trade war windfall just does not make sense, because more than ever we will need fuel - for movement of essential commodities, most of which will be done by private actors, and they'll all be facing cash flow issues because their customers will also face the same constraint.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by hserus

I have serious doubts that any measure being introduced is going to go beyond cosmetic. The Indian economy has seen two self inflicted disasters in demo and GST - and we now have Coronavirus to contend with. The measures announced today by the hon'ble FM such as removing minimum balance requirements and postponing the end of financial year date are, as an auditor friend described it to me, "cough syrup to treat lung cancer".

Nice analogy. Very true as well. Today even one local TV channel that promote GOI loyally had to move away from her speech to something more interesting!

The Cheerleaders of Demonetization & GST are still not able to see what`s happening with the Economy, more than science economy has become a matter of blind faith

Here is something from ET -
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...9.cms?from=mdr



All you electric vehicle fans, good luck on getting my money to pay for your subsidy - they want me to drive diesel & petrol vehicles to fill the reserve bank instead. Please reduce tax on combustion engine vehicles GOI, you`ll fix your problems - You see, I told you this earlier too. Delay BS6 as well if you can.