With the current fiscal scenario in mind, the excise tax rates on petrol and diesel have been set to create resources for infrastructure building and other developmental expenditure said Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Tuesday. The minister stated in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha that the price of fuel increased by Rs 3.83 per litre in May, Rs 4.58 in June, and Rs 2.73 in July, which is up to July 16.
Diesel price increased by Rs 4.42 in May
Petrol and diesel prices were reduced by Rs 0.16 and Rs 0.14 per litre, respectively, in April. Diesel prices increased by Rs 4.42 a litre in May, Rs 4.03 in June, and Rs 0.69 in July. On July 16, 2021, the retail selling price of petrol and diesel in Delhi was Rs 101.54/ litre and Rs 89.87/ litre, respectively. Choudhary further stated that with the current budgetary scenario in mind, the excise tax rates on petrol and diesel have been regulated to create resources for infrastructure and other developmental items of expenditure.
The total excise duty collected on petrol and diesel in the first three months of the current fiscal which is April to June was Rs 94,181 crore. Excise revenue on petrol and diesel increased by 88 per cent to Rs 3.35 lakh crore in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2021, after excise tax was raised to a new high.
Last year, excise duty on petrol was raised from Rs 19.98 to Rs 32.9 per litre to recoup gains from worldwide oil prices plummeting to multi-year lows as the epidemic sucked demand. Diesel prices were raised to Rs 31.8 per litre, up from Rs 15.83 previously.
Oil Marketing Organisations have made appropriate pricing decisions for fuels
With effect from June 26, 2010, and October 19, 2014, the pricing of petrol and diesel were determined by the market. Since then, public-sector Oil Marketing Organisations have made appropriate pricing decisions for petrol and diesel based on international product prices and other market conditions. According to him, the OMCs have increased and dropped fuel prices in response to fluctuations in worldwide prices and the rupee-dollar exchange rate.