Petrol price cut 32 paise per litre; diesel slashed 85 paise

Excise duty on petrol raised by 75 p and on diesel by Rs 1.83 a litre

The oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Friday slashed the retail price of petrol by 32 paise per litre and cut diesel prices by 85 paise per litre in a bid to align domestic rates with the ongoing price slump in the international market. Post the price revision, to be effective midnight today, unbranded petrol will be priced at Rs 59.03 per litre in Delhi including taxes while diesel will be charged at Rs 44.18 a litre.

"The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and the rupee-dollar exchange rate warrant a decrease in prices, the impact of which is being passed on to consumers with this price revision," Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest fuel retailer said. It added the movement of prices in the oil market and the exchange rate will continue to be monitored and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes.

Petrol prices were earlier revised on January 1, through a 63 paise reduction per litre, while diesel cost was brought down by Rs 1.06 per litre. While the OMCs slashed retail prices, they did not pass on the full benefit of the reduction in global prices to consumers.

Seeking to maximize gains from crude price slump, the government also on Friday raised excise duty on petrol by 75 paise per litre and the duty on diesel by Rs 1.83 per litre. The fourth duty rise in two months is likely to help the Centre mop an additional Rs 3,700 crore in the remainder of the current financial year ending March.

Through the latest revision, basic excise duty on every litre of unbranded petrol has been raised from Rs 7.73 to Rs 8.48, while the duty on unbranded diesel has been increased from Rs 7.83 to Rs 9.66 per litre. After including additional and special excise duty, the total levy on unbranded petrol will be Rs 20.48 per litre as against Rs 19.73 per litre currently. Total excise duty on unbranded diesel will be Rs 15.66 per litre as compared to Rs 13.83 per litre currently.

 

The government had earlier revised excise duty on January 2, when the duty on petrol was raised by 37 paise per litre and by Rs 2.00 a litre on diesel. Basic excise duty on unbranded petrol was increased from Rs 7.36 to Rs 7.73 per litre and on unbranded diesel from 5.83 per litre to Rs 7.83 per litre. That hike is estimated to garner an additional Rs 4,300 crore in the remaining of the current financial year. Prior to that, the excise duty on the two deregulated automobile fuels was revised on December 16 and November 7 last year.