In what comes as a major relief for consumers, petrol may get cheaper as the Ministry of Petroleum has recommended slashing the excise duty on petrol and diesel by 50%. If the government agrees to the recommendations, petrol prices will get cheaper by as much as Rs 5 per litre.
Petrol and diesel prices have reached their record level across the country. Petrol has crossed the level of Rs 84 per litre for the first time in Delhi. In such a situation, the general public also wants the government to discount their prices, so that they can get relief.
Due to the reduction in excise duty, the prices will come down significantly.
It may be recalled that during the nationwide lockdown, the government had increased excise duty on petrol by Rs 10. Apart from this, the state governments had also increased VAT. States will also have to cooperate in price cuts. They will have to agree with the Center to cut VAT. The ministry says that apart from a reduction in excise duty, oil companies can also be asked to bear some burden.
According to a survey by the community social media platform Local Circles, the economy is sluggish due to the COVID-19 epidemic. People's income has also been affected by this. In such a situation, they can get great relief from the reduction in the price of vehicle fuel. As many as 69 per cent of the people say that the government should reduce the price of petrol and diesel by 20 per cent or six rupees or more. In the survey, 9,326 people from 201 districts of the country were considered. Among them, 71 per cent are male and 29 per cent are female.
If this is done, the price of petrol in Delhi will come down to Rs 78 and diesel Rs 68 per litre. Similarly, in other parts of the country, fuel prices will come down. The price of petrol and diesel in Delhi is the lowest in the country.
At present, the price of petrol in Delhi at Rs 84 and out of it Rs 51.98 is only taxes. Its actual price is Rs 26 per litre. Apart from taxes, there are dealer commissions and local taxes, which the general public has to pay.
On Thursday, petrol prices were increased by 23 paise and diesel by 26 paise per litre. The price of petrol in Delhi is now Rs 84.20 and diesel is Rs 74.38 per litre. Petrol in Mumbai is Rs 90.83 and diesel is Rs 81.07 per litre.
