Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the 70th day in a row on Jan. 14, according to price notices from state-owned fuel retailers.

According to available data, this is the second-longest duration of price suspension since the daily rate revision was introduced in June 2017. Before that, there was an 82-day gap between March 17 and June 6, 2020.

This is because the central government slashed the consumption tax on November 4, 2021, to ease prices that hit record highs.

The government will tax petrol at Rs 5 per litre and diesel at Rs 10 per litre, resulting in a corresponding reduction in retail pump rates. Many states and federal territories have since cut their local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT) to further ease the burden on consumers.

In Delhi, petrol was priced at Rs 95.41 per litre on the day and diesel at Rs 86.67 per litre. In Mumbai, the Nov. 4 drop brought petrol prices down to Rs 109.98 a litre. Diesel is priced at Rs 94.14 per litre.

In Kolkata, petrol and diesel prices remained at Rs 104.67 and Rs 89.79 per litre respectively.

One litre of petrol is retailing at Rs 101.40 in Chennai. Diesel is priced at Rs 91.43 per litre.

State and federal territories claiming VAT relief after GST cut at the centre include Ladakh, Karnataka, Pondicherry, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Mizoram, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh State and Dammam and Diu.

Next are Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Gujarat, Nagaland, Punjab, Goa, May Galaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Andaman and Nicobar, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana state.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that starting from Republic Day, petrol and diesel prices for two-wheelers owned by the poor in the state will be Rs 25 per litre. Soren announced on December 29 that the state’s JMM-led coalition government had completed two years of work.

Countries that have so far not lowered VAT include those ruled by Congress and its allies, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal, left-wing-ruled Kerala, TRS-led Telangana and YSR Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh also refused to follow suit.

Congress-ruled Punjab saw the biggest drop in petrol prices after cutting VAT the most, while Ladakh saw the biggest drop in diesel prices.

Petrol and diesel prices across the country were already hitting record highs ahead of the excise tax cut. While petrol prices in most cities have exceeded Rs 100 a litre, nearly half of diesel prices in the country are above that level. In Delhi, petrol is priced at Rs 110.04 per litre and diesel at Rs 98.42.

Complete News Source : moneycontrol