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Excise duty cut on petrol, diesel could lead to ₹7,000 crore revenue loss in 15 days: Top tax official
The move — to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre — reduces losses of oil companies amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The government's move to slash excise duty on petrol and diesel will lead to a revenue loss of around ₹7,000 crore in 15 days, CBIC Chairman Vivek Chaturvedi said on Friday.
The move — to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre — reduces losses of oil companies amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The move will further ensure domestic availability of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), Chaturvedi said during a briefing.
The top tax official said that the excise cut on petrol, diesel has been aimed to reduce the under recoveries of oil marketing companies and to ensure that the fuel prices do not rise for common man.
The government has also imposed an export duty of ₹21.5 per litre on diesel and ₹29.5 per litre on ATF to meet domestic demands.
Chaturvedi said the additional duty on exports will yield ₹1,500 crore to the exchequer in a fortnight.
According to industry estimates, the impact of the duty cut will lead to a loss of ₹1.75 lakh crore annually.
What ministers said on the excise cut?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a post on X, said the slashing excise duty "will provide protection to consumers from rise in prices".
The government has always ensured that citizens are protected from vagaries of supply and costs of essential goods, she said.
"Further, duties have been imposed on exports of diesel at ₹21.5 per litre and on ATF at ₹29.5 per litre. This will ensure adequate availability of these products for domestic consumption," her post read.
Union petrolium minister Hardeep Singh Puri said international crude prices have gone through the roof in the last one month from around $70 dollars per barrel to around $122.
"Consequently, petrol and diesel prices for consumers have gone up all over the world. Prices have increased by around 30-50 per cent in Southeast Asian countries, 30 per cent in North American countries, 20 per cent in Europe and 50 per cent in African countries," he said.
The war in the Middle East, that marks 30 days on Saturday, has pushed international oil prices up by 50 per cent to over $100 per barrel. As per estimates, the current international crude prices, petrol prices should have been increased by ₹26 a litre and diesel by ₹81.90.
The petrol price in Delhi is currently at ₹94.77 per litre, while that of diesel is ₹ ₹87.67.
