Petrol, diesel prices remained unchanged for over a month on on Tuesday (December 14) after the Centre cut excise duty on fuel to bring down retail rates.

The excise duty on petrol was reduced by Rs 5 a litre, while diesel by Rs 10 a litre on November 3. States and union territories also cut value-added tax (VAT) to give further reprieve to consumers.

Petrol price in Delhi was at Rs 95.41 a litre, while diesel was at Rs 86.67 a litre. In Mumbai petrol price remained unchanged at Rs 109.98 a litre and diesel price at Rs 94.14 per litre.

In Kolkata, petrol was at Rs 104.67 a litre and diesel prices at Rs 89.79 per litre. The retail price of petrol in Chennai was Rs 101.40, while diesel price at Rs 91.43 per litre.

As fuel prices skyrocketed, the central government decided to cut the duty on November 3, which was the highest-ever reduction in excise duty. The government also urged states to reduce value-added tax (VAT) on fuel to give relief to consumers.

The states/UTs that extended additional VAT benefits to the consumers are - Punjab, Goa, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Gujarat, Ladakh, Karnataka, Sikkim, Mizoram, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Punjab, Goa, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Andaman and Nicobar, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

States that have not lowered VAT include Congress and its allies ruled Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. TMC-governed West Bengal, Left-ruled Kerala, TRS-led Telangana and YSR Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh have also not cut VAT.

Congress-ruled Punjab has cut local sales tax or VAT the most, while UT of Ladakh witnessed the largest reduction in diesel rates for the same reason.

(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)

First Published:Dec 14, 2021 9:15 AM IST