Petrol, diesel prices soar day after govt raises taxes
The petrol price in Delhi surged by Rs 2.45, while the price of diesel was hiked by Rs 2.36 on Saturday. With the increase in price, petrol and diesel in the national capital would now cost Rs 72.96 per litre and 66.69 per litre respectively. The development comes a day after the government had announced a rise in fuel taxes in the 2019 budget.
A litre of petrol that cost Rs 70.51 in Delhi on Friday, was up by Rs 2.45 at Rs 72.96 per litre on Saturday. Diesel in Delhi, which was previously priced at Rs 64.33 a litre, has been hiked by Rs 2.36 to Rs 66.69 per litre.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the petrol would now cost Rs 78.57 per litre, up by Rs 2.42. Diesel price has seen an increase of Rs 2.5, up at Rs 69.90 per litre from the previous price of Rs 67.40 per litre.
In Kolkata, the prices of petrol and diesel were up by Rs 2.4 and Rs 2.36 a litre respectively. Petrol which cost Rs 72.75 a litre till Friday, now costs Rs 75.15 per litre, while diesel price stood at Rs 68.59 per litre, up from Rs 66.23 per litre.
Chennai is one city that sees the biggest hike in prices of petrol and diesel. Petrol in Chennai went up by Rs 2.57 at Rs 75.15 per litre from the previous price of Rs 72.75 per litre. Diesel price in Chennai also shot up by Rs 2.52 at Rs 70.48 per litre from the previous price of Rs 67.96 per litre.
Presenting her maiden budget in Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday raised cess on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre, while customs duty on gold was also increased to 12.5 per cent from existing 10 per cent.
Surcharges on individuals having taxable income of Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore; and Rs 5 crore and more have been raised, Sitharaman said.
She also said there will be no merchant discount rate (MDR) charges on digital transaction made at big establishments having an annual turnover of more than Rs 50 crore.
The finance minister also announced TDS (tax deducted at source) of 2 per cent on cash withdrawal of more than Rs 1 crore from a bank account.
She said the faceless assessment of tax returns in electronic mode is being launched this year in a phased manner.
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