Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged on Tuesday. The oil companies announce updated petrol and diesel rates everyday at 6 am. As per the latest rates, petrol in Delhi costs ₹96.72 per litre while the price of diesel in the national capital stands at ₹89.62 per litre.
In India’s financial capital Mumbai, the price of petrol and diesel stood at ₹106.31 per litre and ₹94.27 per litre. Here are the petrol and diesel prices for top 5 cities on May 2, 2023.
In India, fuel prices are decided by oil marketing companies like HPCL, BP and IOCL. They are not controlled by the government and adjust their rates as per global prices.
But it is not that the Centre does not have any impact on petrol and diesel prices. The Union government regulates prices through excise duty. It also controls rates via base prices and can cap rates at which dealers and OMCs deal with each other.
The price at which the petrol or diesel dealers or distributors buy from oil marketing companies+excise duty+dealer’s commission+ value added tax levied by the state government= Petrol price
The fuel prices in India are not under goods and service tax. While the Centre collects excise duty, the state governments collect VAT. Since VAT is different for each state, hence the pricing. Rajasthan levies the highest VAT in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.