No fuel price rise in India, govt absorbing excise duty cut on petrol, diesel, says Hardeep Puri
The government slashes excise duty on fuel, bringing petrol tax down to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13 and reducing diesel duty to zero from Rs 10 per litre
The government has chosen to bear the burden of rising global crude prices rather than passing it on to consumers, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri clarified on Friday.
Puri said the government is absorbing a loss of Rs 24 per litre on petrol and Rs 30 a litre on diesel following the increase in global crude cost.
The minister said that unlike other economies where domestic fuel prices have been raised following global costs going through the roof due to the West Asia crisis, there has been no rise in India.
“International crude prices have gone through the roof in the past one month from around 70 dollars/barrel to around 122 dollars/barrel. Consequently, petrol and diesel prices for consumers have gone up all over the world. Prices have increased by around 30 per cent to 50 per cent in southeast Asia, 30 per cent in North America, 20 per ent in Europe and 50 per cent in Africa," he said on X.
Puri said the Modi government had two choices -- either to increase the prices drastically for citizens as all other nations have done or bear the brunt on its finances so that the common man is insulated from international volatility.
"Prime Minister Modi in keeping with his government’s commitment of last four years since the Russia-Ukraine war started, decided to take a hit on its own finances again to safeguard the Indian citizen," he said.
Puri said the government has taken a huge hit on its taxation revenues to ensure that the high losses of oil companies (approximately Rs 24/litre for petrol and Rs 30/litre for diesel) at this time of sky-high international prices are reduced.
"At the same time, export tax has been levied as international prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed and any refinery exporting to foreign nations will have to pay export tax. My gratitude to PM Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman for this very timely, bold and visionary decision," Puri added.
Earlier, the government slashed excise duty on fuel, bringing petrol tax down to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13 and reducing diesel duty to zero from Rs 10 per litre.
The move is aimed at protecting domestic consumers from fuel price rise amid global uncertainties triggered by the West Asia war.
