Gujarat Congress today promised a drastic cut in Value Added Tax (VAT) levied on petroleum products in the state and zero VAT on fertilisers if the party wins the Assembly elections.

Gujarat Congress president Arjun Modhwadia, while announcing a 12-point 'Gujarat People Development Vision-2012', said if Congress comes to power, Gujarat will have much lower VAT on petrol, diesel and CNG, compared to other states.

"Gujarat is the only state which has imposed VAT on fertilisers. We will remove this levy and reduce the burden imposed by the BJP government on state farmers," he stated.

Alleging that the rise in prices across the board in the state was due to "faulty economic policies" of the BJP government, he said, "If VAT is removed on fertilisers, about 46 lakh farmers who pay around Rs 300 crore by way of VAT annually will be benefited."

At present people in Gujarat pay Rs 15 as VAT on a litre of petrol, Rs 9.31 on diesel and Rs 6 on CNG which works out to 25 per cent, 24 per cent and 15 per cent respectively which is much higher than the levy in states like Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana, he said without quantifying the reduction his party was contemplating.

"The state government is least concerned about the common people. It is earning Rs 11,000 crore through VAT on diesel, petrol, CNG and fertiliser and at the same time granting exemptions to a few select industrial houses," he alleged.

President of Gujarat State Congress campaign committee Shankersinh Vaghela said, "In the coming days, we will highlight the 'Vision' document and appeal people to decide if they still want to continue with this government which has exploited them for past so many years."

Opposition leader Shaktisinh Gohil while elaborating the philosophy behind the 'Vision' paper said, "Instead of only highlighting negative aspects of this government, we have decided to offer our philosophy of sustained development by proposing constructive ideas."