Petrol, Diesel Become Cheaper on Softening Global Prices

The decrease might not have been less however for government increasing excise duty about the two vehicle gas to take a few of the increases in the raw oil prices slumping away to 12-.

Moneycontrol BureauState-owned Indian Oil Corporatio n (IOC) has cut petrol price by 32 paise per litre and diesel by 85 paise a litre, effective midnight.

This is the fourth time in quick succession that excise duty on petrol and diesel has been raised by the government – which will partly make up for the shortfall in disinvestment receipts and direct tax collections.

Rates were cut by 58 paise a litre in case of petrol and by 25 paise in diesel on 1 December 2015.

Petrol price, on 1 January, was cut by 63 paise per litre and diesel’s by Rs 1.06 a litre.

In the four increases, the government is expected to mop up over Rs 13,700 crore to meet its budgetary deficit.

It was followed closely by a-50 paise a decrease in cost of gas from 46 and December 16 paise in case there is diesel. It led to about Rs 20,000 crore in additional revenue to the government, helping it meet its fiscal deficit target.

This was followed by a 37 paise increase in the levy on petrol from January 3 and Rs 2 per litre on diesel.

Surjewala said Congress “is appalled at the cruel and diabolic game that the PM and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are playing with the people of the country giving reliefs worth a penny and extracting a pound from them in as far as pricing of petrol and diesel are concerned”.