Petrol rate at 4-yr high, diesel at all-time high

NEWDELHI: INDIA HAS THE HIGHEST RETAIL PRICES OF PETROL AND DIESEL AMONG SOUTH ASIAN NATIONS AS TAXES ACCOUNT FOR HALF OF THE PUMP RATES

Petrol price hit a fouryear high of ₹73.73 a litre on Sunday while diesel rates touched an all-time high of ₹64.58 in the national capital, renewing calls for the government to cut excise tax rates.

State-owned oil firms, which have been since June last year revising auto fuel prices daily, on Sunday raised petrol and diesel rates by 18 paise per litre each in Delhi, according to a price notification.

Petrol in the national capital now costs ₹73.73 a litre, the highest since September 14, 2014 when rates had hit ₹76.06.

Diesel price at ₹64.58 is the highest ever, with previous high of ₹64.22 being on February 7, 2018.

The Oil Ministry had earlier this year sought a reduction in excise duty on petrol an diesel to cushion the impact rising international oil rates but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget presented on February 1 ignored those calls.

India has the highest retail prices of petrol and diesel among South Asian nations as taxes account for half of the pump rates.

Jaitley had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by ₹2 a litre.

Subsequent to that excise duty reduction, the Centre had asked states to also lower VAT but just four of them —Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh —reduced rates while others including BJP-ruled ones ignored the call.