Govt reduces petrol price by Rs4, keeps diesel price unchanged

The government on Friday cut the petrol price by Rs4 per litre and kept the diesel rate unchanged with immediate effect for the week ending June 12, owing to changes in global prices over the past week.

Accordingly, the ex-depot price of high-speed diesel (HSD) will remain fixed at Rs380.78 per litre for another week. The government made adjustments in taxes and other levies to maintain the diesel price, which is otherwise considered on the higher side.

The diesel price has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 10. HSD is considered the most inflationary item given its maximum use in freight transportation.

The ex-depot rate of petrol was cut by Rs4 to Rs377.79 per liter instead of Rs381.78 per liter at present. This is the fourth consecutive weekly downward price revision in case of petrol, with a cumulative reduction of about Rs37 per litre.

The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on HSD in the form of customs duty, petroleum levy and climate support levy besides inland freight equalisation margin. Meanwhile, the total tax on petrol stands at Rs125 per litre, including petroleum levy, customs duty and climate levy.

The government is also charging about Rs21 per litre as petroleum levy on kerosene and about Rs16 per litre on light diesel oil. Petrol and HSD are the major revenue spinners with their monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.