The central government has cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 and Rs 6 per litre, respectively. Considering other cess and dealer commission reductions, the price of petrol has reduced by 9.5 per litre and that of diesel has reduced by Rs 7 per litre. This comes after a series of fuel price hikes, and petrol crossing the Rs 120 per litre mark in Mumbai recently.
A day after the central government cut the taxes, several state governments also reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel. Here is a list of states that have lowered VAT on petrol and diesel.
Kerala
The Kerala government has announced a cut in tax on petrol by Rs 2.41 per litre, and on diesel by Rs 1.36 per litre.
Maharashtra
The government of Maharashtra has reduced VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs 2.08 per litre and Rs 1.44 per litre, respectively.
Rajasthan
The Rajasthan government has reduced the tax on petrol by Rs 2.48 per litre, and on diesel by Rs 1.16 per litre.
Odisha
The government of Odisha has also reduced taxes on petrol by Rs 2.23 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 1.36 per litre.
Bihar
While the Bihar government is yet to announce any cuts in fuel prices, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has supported the Centre's announcement of reducing the excise duty on fuels, and hinted that his government will also do its bit after necessary deliberations.
Major fuel price cut in India after a series of hikes
International crude oil prices had started rising even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, but the conflict accelerated it further. India is dependent on imports for 85 percent of its energy needs and a slight fluctuation in international prices tends to have an impact here too. Fuel prices in the country were rising almost every day by March end, with the last hike being on April 6 when petrol and diesel prices were increased by Rs 80 paise each. Since then, petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged across all metro cities, before Saturday's cut was announced.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Anurag Chaturvedi
