Fuel prices continued to skyrocket on Friday raising worries for common man. Petrol and diesel prices in Delhi stood at Rs 82.32 per litre and Rs 73.87 per litre respectively. Petrol prices reached an all-time high of Rs 89.69 in Mumbai whereas the diesel prices stood at Rs 78.42 in the financial capital.
Earlier on Thursday, petrol price witnessed a 6 paise per litre hike in three metropolitan cities - Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.The price was increased by 7 paise per litre in Chennai. However, the rates of diesel remained unchanged in all the four cities.
Diesel prices stood at Rs 73.87/litre in Delhi, whereas in Mumbai it is 78.42/litre.
Fuel prices are lowest in the capital, followed by Kolkata, where a litre of petrol is being sold for Rs 84.1/litre and diesel for Rs 75.8. In Chennai, the price of petrol went up to Rs 85.48, while diesel prices reached Rs 78.
Since the start of the calendar year, the petrol price in Delhi has gone up by 15.4 per cent from Rs 69.97 on January 1, 2018. The hike in diesel price has been steeper. It has gone up by 22 per cent since January 1 when it cost Rs 59.70.
The spiraling fuel prices have severely affected the household budget of the common man and Opposition has also been targeting the government over the issue. However, the BJP-led NDA government remains non-committal over slashing the rates.
The Centre currently levies a total excise duty of Rs 19.48 per litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel. On top of this, states levy Value Added Tax (VAT) -- the lowest being in Andaman and Nicobar Islands where 6 per cent sales tax is charged on both the fuels
Mumbai has the highest VAT of 39.12 per cent on petrol, while Telangana levies the highest VAT of 26 per cent on diesel. Delhi charges a VAT of 27 per cent on petrol and 17.24 per cent on diesel.
The Central government had raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 11.77 a litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre in nine instalments 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 Rs 2 a litre.
Latest Business News
