Petrol and diesel prices in Karnataka have increased after the state revised sales tax on Saturday.
According to a gazette notification, the government revised sales tax on petrol and diesel by 29.84% and 18.44% respectively.
As per the Petroleum Dealers Association, petrol and diesel prices are likely to go up by ₹3 and ₹3.05 approximately in Karnataka, ANI reported.
Petrol and diesel prices in Karnataka
The price of petrol has surged by ₹3, bringing the rate Bengaluru to ₹102.84 per litre, up from the previous rate of ₹99.84.
Similarly, the price of diesel has increased by ₹3.02, raising the cost per litre from ₹85.93 to ₹88.95.
“The rich can get petrol, where will we go? I work at a BPO. I will have to get petrol in ₹15,000 salary...This will affect us vastly,” a biker named Chandan told ANI.
The decision by the Finance Department of Karnataka aims to generate additional revenue for the state.
However, it is likely to have a ripple effect on various sectors, including transportation and goods distribution, potentially leading to increased costs for consumers.
Centre cuts windfall tax on domestic crude oil
The decision by Karnataka comes hours after the central government reduced windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil from ₹5,200 per tonne to ₹3,250 per tonne, PTI reported.
{{/usCountry}}The decision by Karnataka comes hours after the central government reduced windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil from ₹5,200 per tonne to ₹3,250 per tonne, PTI reported.
{{/usCountry}}The tax is levied in the form of Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED). SAED on export of diesel, petrol and jet fuel or ATF, has been retained at 'nil'.
The government had first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1, 2022, joining a host of nations that tax supernormal profits of energy companies.
The tax rates are reviewed every fortnight based on average oil prices in the previous two weeks.
Centre cut fuel prices by ₹2 per litre this year
In March this year, the government had reduced petrol and diesel prices by ₹2 per litre. It was the first nationwide fuel price cut since May 2022.
“By slashing petrol and diesel prices by ₹2 (per litre), prime minister Narendra Modi has once again shown that providing welfare and convenience to his family of crores of Indians, has always been his goal," Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri had wrote on social platform X.
Last month, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had said that the petrol prices would have gone up if India's foreign policy would not have been clear on the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Look at one example. We had this pressure on Russia and Ukraine. We were clear. Suppose we had not been clear. Suppose we had said. Sorry. Sorry. You are saying it very strongly. We will not do what we did. Your petrol price would have gone up by ₹20 because of that,” ANI had quoted Jaishankar as saying.
On May 21, 2022, the Centre had slashed excise duty on petrol and diesel, resulting in prices being reduced by ₹8 per litre and ₹6 per litre respectively. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the move resulted in a revenue implication of around ₹1 lakh crore per year for the government.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)