Govt raises excise duty on petrol, diesel by Rs 2 per litre; oppositions lashes out

The Central government has raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel prices by ₹2 per litre. An official notification by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, said the change would take effect from April 8.

According to the order, the excise duty on petrol was increased to Rs 13 per litre and Rs 10 on diesel to.

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While the excise duty has been increased, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas confirmed that there would be no burden on the common man as there will be no increase in retail prices of petrol and diesel.

The retail selling price of petrol in Delhi is Rs 94.77 per litre, and diesel is being sold for Rs 87.67 per litre.

Crude prices have softened over the past from over USD 70 per barrel to USD 63 per barrel on Monday, raising margins for the oil marketing companies (OMCs).

“PSU Oil Marketing Companies have informed that there will be no increase in retail prices of petrol and diesel, subsequent to the increase affected in Excise Duty Rates today,” the oil ministry said in a post on X.

Lashing out at the government over the move, Congress said it should not have been satisfied with the losses due to the stock market slump that it was rubbing salt into the wounds of people.

In a post on X in Hindi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Vaah Modi Ji Vaah!! The international crude oil prices have fallen by 41% as compared to May 2014, but your plundering government, instead of reducing the prices of petrol and diesel, has increased the Central Excise Duty by Rs 2 each.”

“You must not have been satisfied after the small and big investors in the stock market lost Rs 19 lakh crores in one go due to the deep ‘Kumbhakaran-like’ sleep on the tariff policy, that your government has come to rub salt into the wounds!” he said.

Notably, in December 2024, the government scrapped the windfall profit tax on domestic crude and fuel exports, first imposed on July 1, 2022, amid falling global oil prices.

International oil prices have slumped to their lowest since April 2021 as escalating trade tensions between the United States and China stoked fears of a recession that could cut oil demand.