Petrol at Rs 86.25/litre, diesel at Rs 75.12 burn hole in pockets

Soaring fuel prices have renewed demands for bringing their prices under the GST or slash excise rates.

Fuel is set to burn a hole in your pocket with petrol and diesel prices hitting an all-time high at Rs 86.25 and Rs 75.12 a litre respectively in the city on Sunday. This has renewed the demand to bring fuel prices under ambit of goods and services tax (GST) or cut excise rates.

Fuel prices touched an all-time high in Mumbai on Sunday.(HT FILE PHOTO)

State-owned oil firms on Sunday hiked petrol and diesel prices by 16 paise and 31 paise respectively. This broke the last record of Rs 86.24 a litre for petrol and Rs 73.79 a litre for diesel on May 29.

In the past five months, petrol and diesel prices have gone up by Rs 4.66 a litre and Rs 6.35 a litre. The hike in fuel prices since June 15, 2017, is Rs 9.55 a litre and Rs 15.22 a litre as petroleum companies started revising fuel prices daily.

After May 29, fuel prices steadily dropped in June. It further moved upward from July 4. In August, fuel prices went up by more than 2.5%. The sharp rise in prices left consumers fuming as passenger and goods transportation is expected to become costlier, besides triggering inflation concerns. “Fare of private buses and tourist taxis will be increased up to 20%. We are compelled to pass the burden of price rise to commuters,” said Malik Patel, secretary of Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana, who also leads the Federation of Tourist Taxi Operators.

According to transporters, the government should either bring fuel prices under ambit of GST or cut down excise tax rate. The oil ministry had sought a reduction in excise duty on fuel prices to cushion the impact of rising international rates, but the Centre did not budge. After a Rs 2/litre reduction in excise duty last year, the Centre had asked states to lower value added tax (VAT), but only some states complied.

However, the fuel rates in Maharashtra are so high owing to the VAT and the surcharge levied. The state levies 25% VAT on petrol in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and 26% in the rest of the state, and a surcharge of Rs 9 a litre. For diesel, the VAT is 21% in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai and 22% in rest of the state, with a surcharge of Rs 1 a litre across the state.