The oil marketing companies (OMCs) slashed fuel prices across the four metros on Wednesday after keeping the rates steady for 24 straight days. Petrol and diesel prices were decreased by up to 18 paise per litre each, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.

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In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 90.99 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 81.30. In Mumbai, petrol comes for Rs 97.40 a litre and diesel for Rs 88.42 a litre.

The prices of petrol and diesel are reviewed by oil marketing companies such as state-run Indian Oil on a daily basis and any revision is implemented from 6 am in the morning.

The fuel prices vary from state to state in the country due to the value-added tax or VAT.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said she would be "glad" to discuss the suggestion of bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax at the next meeting of the GST Council. State levies and central excise duty account for more than half of the retail selling prices of petrol and diesel, according to news agency PTI.

Central government's tax collections on petrol and diesel have jumped over 300 per cent in the last six years as excise duty on the two fuels was hiked, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. The central government collected Rs 29,279 crore from excise duty on petrol and Rs 42,881 crore on diesel in 201415 the first year of office of the Modi government, PTI reported.

Globally, oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as investors looked for bargains following the previous day’s plunge, but gains were capped as pandemic lockdowns in Europe and a build in US crude stocks curbed risk appetite and raised oversupply fears, according to news agency Reuters.

First Published:Mar 24, 2021 9:12 AM IST