Diesel hits record-high of Rs. 69.46/liter; petrol touches Rs. 78/liter
Diesel prices today hit a record high of Rs. 69.46/liter while petrol inched towards Rs. 78/liter mark after a fall in Rupee made imports costlier. Diesel price today increased by 14p/liter and petrol by 13p/liter, according to price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The hike pushed diesel price to its highest-ever level of Rs. 69.46/liter in Delhi. In Mumbai, diesel now costs Rs. 73.74/liter.
Diesel's previous highest hike was Rs. 69.31/liter in Delhi
Fuel prices in Delhi are the cheapest in all metros. Diesel price had previously hit its highest level on May 29 when it reached Rs. 69.31/liter in Delhi. Petrol in Delhi today costs Rs. 77.91/liter, and Rs. 85.33/liter in Mumbai. The rates are however lower than the peak hit on May 29 when they touched Rs. 78.43/liter in Delhi and Rs. 86.24/liter in Mumbai.
Fuel prices have been high since Rupee's highest fall
Fuel prices have been on the rise since August 16 after the Rupee dipped to its lowest value against the US Dollar. The domestic unit had hit a record low of 70.32 in early trade that day. Petrol price has risen by Rs. 0.77/liter in Delhi in last 12 days. Diesel rates have gone up by Rs. 0.74/liter since then.
Govt ruled out demands of reducing excise duty
State-owned oil firms had in mid-June 2017 dumped the 15-year practice of revising rates on 1st and 16th of every month in favor of daily price revisions. High prices have off-and-on triggered demands for reducing excise duty but the government had ruled that out.
States levy VAT over excise duty on petro goods
The Center currently levies Rs. 19.48/liter of excise duty on petrol and Rs. 15.33/liter on diesel. On top of this, states levy VAT, the lowest being in Andaman and Nicobar Islands where a 6% sales tax is charged on both the fuels. Mumbai has the highest VAT of 39.12% on petrol. Delhi charges a VAT of 27% on petrol and 17.24% on diesel.
Center had previously hiked excise duties in nine installments
The Center had raised excise duty on petrol by Rs. 11.77/liter and that on diesel by 13.47/liter in nine installments between Nov'14-Jan'16 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs. 2/liter.
