Mumbai, April 22: Fuel prices in India continue to soar as the international crude oil prices rallied higher. Petrol price on Sunday hit Rs 74.40 a litre which is the highest level under the BJP-led government. Meanwhile, diesel rates touched a record high of Rs 65.65, renewing calls for the cut in excise duty to ease burden on consumers.

India has the highest retail prices of petrol and diesel among South Asian nations as taxes account for half of the pump rates. The petrol in the national capital now costs Rs 74.40 a litre, the highest since September 14, 2013 when rates had hit ₹76.06. Diesel price at Rs 65.65 are the highest ever. According to a report by PTI, the hike, necessitated due to firming international oil prices, comes on back of a 13 paisa increase in rates of petrol effected on Saturday and a 15-paisa hike in diesel, it said.

Price of Petrol on April 22, 2018

Metros Price (in Rs)
Delhi 74.40
Mumbai 82.25
Kolkata 77.10
Chennai 77.19

Price of Diesel on April 22, 2018

Metros Price (In Rs)
Delhi 65.65
Mumbai 69.91
Kolkata 68.35
Chennai 69.27

State-owned oil firms like Hindustan Petroleum Corp Limited (HPCL), Indian Oil Corp (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Limited (BPCL) decide the final retail petrol price by taking into consideration the international crude basket, plus states’ Value Added Tax (VAT) and the government's excise duty. It must be noted that fuel prices in India have been changing from June 15, 2017. Earlier, the prices used to change every two weeks. This move is aimed to effectively understand the alterations in day by day diesel price in India.

Earlier this year, the oil Ministry had sought a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact arising out of international oil rates, but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget presented on February 1 made no concessions. Reports inform that Jaitley had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.

To recall, the government had cut excise duty by Rs 2 per litre in October 2017, when petrol price reached Rs 70.88 per litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 59.14. Because of the reduction in excise duty, diesel prices had on October 4, 2017 came down to Rs 56.89 per litre and petrol to Rs 68.38 per litre. However, a global rally in crude prices pushed domestic fuel prices far higher than those levels.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2018 04:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).