Petrol price hits highest level since 2013, diesel touches fresh high

Petrol and diesel prices were increased by 10 paise per liter across New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai Monday (April 23). Diesel price touched an all-time high of Rs 65.76 per liter in New Delhi and petrol price is at its highest level since 2013.

According to the country's largest retailer, Indian Oil Corporation's (IOCL), petrol is priced at Rs 74.5 per liter in New Delhi, Rs 77.2 per liter in Kolkata, Rs 82.35 per liter in Mumbai and Rs 77.29 per liter in Chennai.

Diesel is retailed at Rs 65.75 per liter in New Delhi, Rs 68.45 per liter in Kolkata, Rs 70.01 per liter in Mumbai and Rs 69.37 per liter in Chennai.

The skyrocketing fuel prices have renewed the call for excise duty cut on diesel and petrol in the country. The Narendra Modi government has lowered excise duty on petrol and diesel only once in its tenure - in October 2017.

When petrol price touched Rs 70.88 per liter in New Delhi and diesel was priced at Rs 59.14, the government had cut exercise duty by Rs 2 per liter.

In a move expected to lessen the impact of surging fuel prices, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had also reduced basic excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per liter. However, the reduction was offset by a new Rs 8 per liter levy of road and infrastructure cess on both petrol and diesel.

In July 2017, the government had ended the price fixing regime of fuels by dumping a 15-year-old practice of revising fuel rates on the 1st and 16th of every month.

Now, the prices of diesel and petrol are revised by state-owned oil market companies like Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation on a daily basis based on international market rates of crude oil and foreign exchange rates.