Petrol became costlier by 24 paise per litre and diesel by 27 paise a litre on Sunday as state-run retailers raised rates for the ninth time in 13 days, making the fuels costlier by ?2.18 and ?2.49 a litre, respectively, since May 4.
Petrol prices crossed the ?100 mark in several cities, particularly in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh on Sunday. Key cities to sell petrol over ?100 per litre include Ratnagiri, Parbhari, Aurangabad, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jaisalmer, Ganganagar and Banswara.
Among major metros, Mumbai has the highest fuel rates. While petrol is sold at ?98.88 per litre in the financial capital of India on Sunday, diesel is sold at ?90.40 a litre. Even as fuel rates in Delhi are the benchmark for the entire country, retail prices of the two fuels differ from place to place because of variations in state taxes and local levies.
There are two key reasons for higher petrol and diesel rates – taxes on auto fuels and a spike in international oil prices. To be sure, much of the retail price is taxes. For instance, in Delhi, on May 16, central taxes accounted for 35.5% of petrol’s price, and state taxes, 23%. On diesel, central levies are over 38.2% while state taxes are about 14.6%. Through 2020, as global crude prices fell, the central government raised excise duty on fuel to shore up its finances. States too followed suit — with revenue hit on account of the pandemic.
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