Government Can Reduce Petrol Price By Rs 25 Per Litre: P Chidambaram

Chidambaram said that the petrol price could be reduced by Rs 25/litre but the government will not do it. He stated that Rs 25 on every litre of petrol is a bonanza to the government and this money rightfully belongs to the average consumer.

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He added, "Central government saves Rs 15 on every litre of petrol due to fall in crude oil prices. The central government levies an additional tax of Rs 10 on every litre of petrol. It is possible to cut up to Rs 25 per litre, but the government will not. They will cheat the people by cutting the price by Rs 1 or 2 per litre of petrol."

In the past few days, the oil companies raised the prices of petrol and diesel and the several cities across the country recorded highest ever fuel price hike. In Mumbai, a litre of petrol costs Rs 85.29. In the national capital Delhi petrol is priced at 77.47/litre.

The price of petrol varies from state to state depending on the local sales tax or VAT. Apart from the VAT, the Central Government levies an excise duty of Rs 19.48/litre of petrol and Rs 15.33/litre of diesel. The addition of VAT rises the prices of petrol and diesel as the sales tax increases with the rise in fuel prices.

In Bangalore, the price of petrol stands at Rs 78.73/litre and a litre of diesel costs Rs 69.71/litre. With the fuel prices shooting up, the consumers are suffering from the past few days. The government is expected to reduce the excise duty to curb the hike in fuel prices.

Apart from that, a petition has been filed in the court to bring the petrol and diesel prices under GST. If the fuel prices come under the GST taxation policy, the petrol price is expected to be at just Rs 45/litre and the diesel might be priced as low as Rs 35/litre.

Thoughts On The Petrol And Diesel Price Hike

The petrol and diesel prices in India has surged up drastically since past few days. The reason behind the fuel price hike is the increase in the oil prices in the global market and declining currency exchange rate against the US dollar.

We expect the government to take necessary actions to reduce the fuel prices by decreasing the excise duty. What are your thoughts on the tax levied by the government? Let us know in the comments section below.