Govt sets up expert group on pricing of petroleum products

Days after raising petrol and diesel prices, the government on Monday announced setting up of an expert group on pricing of petroleum products.

Days after raising petrol and diesel prices, the government on Monday announced setting up of an expert group on pricing of petroleum products.

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"Government will set up an expert group to advise on a viable and sustainable system of pricing petroleum products," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said presenting the Budget for 2009-10 fiscal in Parliament.

The details of the expert group were not announced.

In a boost to use of environment-friendly bio-fuels, he fully exempted petrol and diesel blended with bio-diesel obtained from vegetable oils from excise duty.

Currently, petrol attracts a basic central excise duty of Rs 5.35 a litre plus Rs 6 a litre special additional excise duty. Diesel on the other hand an excise duty of Rs 1.60 per litre.

"In order to encourage the use of this environment- friendly fuel and augment its availability in the country, I also propose to reduce basic customs duty on bio-diesel from 7.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, at par with petrol and diesel," he said.