HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) can buy 2,000 new buses, if the State Government can slash the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax (APGST) on diesel purchased by it to 4 per cent as demanded by unions.

Though the Union Government slashed the ad valorem on the excise duty of petroleum products from eight per cent to six per cent in the recent budget, the petroleum companies are not passing the benefit to consumers. The only solace is the recent reduction in diesel price by one rupee enabling the RTC to save Rs. 43 crores annually.

The APGST on petroleum products is 23 per cent, as opposed to 15 to 16 per cent in several States. The State Government is charging four per cent of APGST on aviation fuel.

If the tax on diesel procured by the RTC, which ferries common man, is brought down to that level, the corporation can save Rs. 250 crores.

After the UPA Government came to power almost three years ago, the fuel prices were enhanced eight times and reduced four times. The net impact on the RTC is put at Rs. 8.54 paise per km.

"The RTC is forced to bear a sum of Rs. 400 crores by way of increase in the diesel prices," says M. Nageswara Rao, president of the National Mazdoor Union, the recognised union in the corporation.

Spending Rs. 1,400 cr.

The RTC spends Rs 1,400 crore for the purchase/ procurement of fuel.

The corporation is covering 70 lakh-odd km of distance in 8,500 routes in 54,000 villages carting 1.32 crore passengers every day using a fleet of 19,320 buses.

If the APGST is brought down to four per cent as demanded, the RTC can buy 2,000 new buses to cover the remaining areas in the State.

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