Petrol Diesel Price Hike 18th Day: Diesel Becomes Costlier Than Petrol In Delhi

Diesel became costlier than petrol in Delhi on Wednesday

In a first, diesel in Delhi became costlier than petrol. State-owned oil companies on Wednesday hiked the price of diesel while keeping that of petrol unchanged. That marked the eighteenth straight hike in the price of diesel, pushing the price of diesel marginally higher compared to petrol. The prices of both fuels had been raised on each of the 17 days leading up to June 23 i.e. Tuesday. With effect from 6 am on June 24, the price of diesel was raised by 48 paise to to Rs 79.88 in the national capital, while the petrol rate was left unchanged at Rs 79.76 per litre.

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However, diesel is costlier than petrol only in Delhi among the four metros, as the rates differ from state to state depending upon the value added tax (VAT). (Also Read: How To Find Latest Petrol, Diesel Rates In Your City)
Since June 7, the price of diesel has gone up by Rs 10.49 per litre in Delhi and petrol by Rs 8.50 per litre.
The Delhi government had on 5 May hiked the value-added tax (VAT) on diesel from 16.75 per cent to 30 per cent, and on petrol from 27 per cent to 30 per cent, which has led to a rise in the actual tax incidence every single time oil companies raised retail selling price since June 7.
The series of daily spike in fuel prices started since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day hiatus.
In Mumbai, the price of petrol stood at Rs 86.54 per litre and that of diesel at Rs 78.22 per litre.
The central government on March 14 hiked the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each, and then again on May 5, by a record Rs 10 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13 on diesel.
The two hikes gave the government Rs 2 lakh crore in additional tax revenues.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of the decrease in global oil rates to a two-decade low.
The three state-run oil marketing companies make up for more than 90 per cent of the fuel outlets in the country.
Meanwhile, India's oil imports in May hit the lowest since October 2011 as refiners with brimming storage cut purchases after a continuous decline in fuel demand, news agency Reuters reported citing preliminary data obtained from industry sources.