Petrol And Diesel Prices Hiked For 16th Consecutive Day, Diesel At New High

This is a new high for both petrol and diesel prices after a gap of 82-days

• The revised rate of petrol is Rs 79.56 per litre.

• Diesel’s revised rate is Rs 78.85 per litre.

• The total price hike in petrol and diesel prices is Rs 8.3 and Rs 9.46 per litre respectively.

• Petrol and diesel prices have been revised daily since May 2017.

Petrol and diesel prices in India have soared upwards for the 16th consecutive day. As of Monday (June 22), the price of petrol stood at Rs 79.56 per litre (up by Rs 0.33) while diesel costed Rs 78.85 per litre (up by Rs 0.58). The petrol prices now stand at a two-year high while those of diesel are at an all time high.

Petrol and diesel prices have been cumulatively hiked by Rs 8.3 and Rs 9.46 per litre respectively in the last 16 days. Even though the price hike is applicable on a pan-India basis, it may vary from state to state depending on local sales tax or value added tax (VAT). What’s worth noting is that this price hike since June 7 is the highest in any fortnight. Prior to this hike, the maximum revision in the rates in any fortnight was Rs 4-5 per litre.

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All Indian petrochemical companies have been revising petrol and diesel prices every fortnight since they were deregulated in April 2002. However, from May 2017, they have been revising these prices on a daily basis so as to allow the costs to reflect instantaneously in retail rates. The last time diesel and petrol touched a new high was in 2018, at Rs 75.69 per litre (as of October 16) and Rs 84 per litre (as of October 4) respectively. During this time the government had cut excise duty by Rs 1.50 per litre on both petrol and diesel to reduce the inflated rates. It had also asked the state-owned oil companies to absorb another Re 1 per litre so as to help cut retail rates by Rs 2.50 per litre. Two-third of the retail selling price of petrol and diesel is made up of taxes. While it makes up for 64 per cent in petrol prices, it accounts for over 63 per cent in the diesel rates. 

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On March 14, 2020, the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each; and then again on May 5 by a record Rs 10 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13 on diesel. This helped the government collect Rs 2 lakh crore in additional tax revenues. As international oil prices fell to a two-decade low, many oil companies adjusted the hike in excise duty against the fall in the retail rates instead of passing them on to customers.

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