Rising oil prices: Can't afford petro excise duty cut, says Arun Jaitley

This is not the time to upset fiscal mathematics, says Union minister

Union minister Arun Jaitley gave the strongest hint yet from anyone in the government that it would not be cutting excise duties on motor fuel, despite rising crude oil prices.

The revenue department has made it clear to the prime minister’s office (PMO) that for every rupee/litre cut in excise duties, the Centre will forgo revenue of Rs140 billion, Business Standard has learnt.

In a blog posting on Monday morning, Jaitley said state governments and citizens should all strive to increase the country’s ratio of non-oil tax to gross domestic product (GDP). While the salaried class must pay its due