NEW DELHI, 3 Nov: Buckling under pressure, the government on Wednesday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by a record Rs 5 and Rs 10 per litre to help bring down rates down from their highest-ever levels.
The excise duty reduction is effective from 4 November when petrol price will come down from the current rate of Rs 110.04 a litre in Delhi to Rs 105.04. Diesel rate will be reduced from Rs 98.42 per litre to Rs 88.42.
“Government of India has taken a significant decision of reducing central excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 (pre litre) respectively from tomorrow. Prices of petrol and diesel will thus come down accordingly,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
This is the highest ever reduction in excise duty and rolls back a part of the Rs 13 and Rs 16 per litre increase in taxes on petrol and diesel effected between March 2020 and May 2020
to avoid passing on to consumers the sharp fall in international oil prices. That hike in excise duty had taken central taxes on petrol to their highest level of Rs 32.9 per litre and that on diesel to Rs 31.8 a litre.
The statement said states are also being urged to commensurately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.
The reduction follows unrelenting hike in international oil prices pushing pump rates across the country to their highest-ever levels. While petrol is above Rs 100-a-litre-mark in all major cities, diesel has crossed that level in more than one-and-a-half dozen states.
The total increase in petrol price since the 5 May, 2020 decision of the government to raise excise duty to record levels now totals Rs 38.78 per litre.
Diesel rates have during this period gone up by Rs 29.03 per litre. (PTI)
