Assam Residents Visiting Bhutan for Cheap Petrol & Diesel: As everyone in India is going through a tough phase with petrol and diesel price going up from last few weeks, people in Assam have found a way to temporarily tackle this problem. Areas close to Bhutan border are using the resources from neighboring nation to keep their pockets safe from burning.
Petrol price in Assam crossed INR 75 while diesel is hovering around INR 64 for every liter. While on the same time, petrol and diesel prices in Bhutan are pretty relaxing at INR 52 and INR 39 respectively. This makes every liter of petrol cheaper by INR 23 while diesel is even lower with existing difference of INR 25 between both countries.
As currency used in Bhutan and India are similarly valued, regions neighboring India accept Indian currency without any problem. They have capped the fuel filling to INR 500 due to some reason but still, a bike can get almost additional 3 liters of fuel for the money spent in Bhutan.
As no visa is required for Indian citizens to enter Bhutan, the fuel difference has attracted more visitors than ever. The fuel is supplied by Indian companies to Bhutan but due to zero tax agreement between Bhutan and India, the price is pretty lower in comparison. Government of Bhutan is passing on these benefits to their customers as they could have even charged a higher value by adding different taxes on the fuel pricing.
Excise duty exemption to Bhutan has helped them place such important everyday commodities at affordable prices but on the other hand, revenue loss to the government of Bhutan is pretty visible. It seems like the INR 500 capping is also placed to avoid Indian citizens misusing their lower priced fuel for their own use. Indian government is also planning to bring petrol and diesel prices under GST slabs.
