Petrol and diesel may soon again become cheaper in Delhi as compared to adjoining cities of Uttar Pradesh as ad valorem duty structure has translated into a bigger reduction in daily prices in the national capital.

While petrol and diesel traditionally have been cheaper in Delhi than most states in the country, due to lower local sales tax or VAT, the October 5 cut in the VAT by BJP-ruled states led to fuel being available at cheaper rates in places such as Ghaziabad and Noida — the UP towns that adjoin the national capital.

However, the difference that had peaked to over Rs 3 per litre in case of petrol and about Rs 2.3 in diesel on October 5, has now come down to just 44-57 paisa in petrol and about Re 1 in diesel, an analysis of the daily price revision notification issued by state-owned oil firms showed.

Petrol prices in Delhi on Tuesday stood at Rs 71.72 a litre as compared to Rs 71.15 in Ghaziabad and Rs 71.28 in Noida. A litre of diesel in the national capital is priced at Rs 66.39 as opposed to Rs 65.31 in Ghaziabad and Rs 65.44 in Noida.

Industry sources said the gap will extinguish in the next few days if the falling trend continues. Fuel in Delhi may by next week turn cheaper in the national capital when compared with adjoining towns, they said.

While the slump in international oil prices has led to an almost equal reduction in base price of petrol and diesel across the country, the actual cut in rates differs from state to state depending on local VAT.

Retail pump price is calculated after adding central excise duty, dealers commission and VAT to the base price. While excise duty is fixed at Rs 17.98 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13.83 a litre in diesel and do not change with any variation in base price, the incidence of VAT in most states changes as the levy is ad valorem or a percentage of the total of the base price plus central excise duty.

According to price notifications, Delhi levies a VAT of 27 per cent on petrol. The same on diesel is 16.75 per cent plus Rs 250 per kl air ambience charge.

VAT on petrol in Uttar Pradesh is 23.78 per cent or Rs 14.41 a litre, whichever is higher. In case of diesel, VAT is 14.05 per cent or Rs 8.43 a litre, whichever is higher.

Sources said when rates are falling, VAT in Uttar Pradesh is levied on fixed per litre term because that is higher than ad valorem rate. And so the reductions in the states have been smaller when compared with Delhi.