Twitter
Advertisement

Will petrol, diesel prices go down further? Nirmala Sitharaman puts ball in states' court

Petrol price news: In November, the prices of petrol and diesel had crossed the 100-mark. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced excise cuts.

Latest News
article-main
Diesel price news: Nirmala Sitharman tweeted the move will have a revenue implication of around Rs 1 lakh crore per year.
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday provided a massive relief to the masses by announcing excise cuts in the soaring prices of petrol and diesel. In a series of tweets, she said the central government is reducing the excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 and on diesel by Rs 6. "We are reducing the Central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre. This will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of Diesel by Rs 7 per litre," she tweeted. However, what can bring more joy to the common man is further decrease in fuel prices. The minister urged the states to reduce the value added tax to provide more relief.

"I wish to exhort all state governments, especially the states where reduction wasn’t done during the last round (November 2021), to also implement a similar cut and give relief to the common man," she tweeted.

This could very well be a hint to at least the BJP-led state government.

In November, the prices of petrol and diesel had crossed the 100-mark. To ease inflationary pressure, just before Diwali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reduced the excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 litre and diesel by Rs 10 per litre. Most BJP-led states had followed suit. They provided more relief by announcing cuts in their respective VATs, putting pressure on the non-BJP states.

If the BJP-states cut VAT, other states will be forced to cut taxes as higher petrol and diesel prices are likely to become political liability, especially when many states will go to polls this year or the next.

The prices of petrol and diesel have been going up after the recent assembly elections. The global crude prices had been soaring since last year, but the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war strained supply-chains, exacerbating the situation. During the initial stages of the war, crude oil was selling as high as $130 dollar per barrel. On Saturday, per the Brent index, it was selling at 112.4 dollars per barrel on the international market.

Sitharman tweeted the move will have a revenue implication of around Rs 1 lakh crore per year.

The Centre has also said that it is taking measures to improve the availability of cement through better logistics, to reduce the cost of cement.

"We are also reducing the customs duty on raw materials and intermediaries for plastic products where our import dependence is high. Import duty on some raw materials of steel will be reduced. Export duty on some steel products will be levied," Sitharaman tweeted.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement