Govt hikes excise duty on petrol to ₹13, diesel to ₹10; retail rates unchanged

Bhubaneswar, April 7: Oil Marketing Companies on Monday announced that retail prices of petrol and diesel will remain unchanged, despite the recent hike of ₹2 per litre in excise duty on both fuels. This comes as a relief to consumers, as the increase will be absorbed by oil companies by adjusting it against the expected reduction in fuel prices due to declining global crude oil rates.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas confirmed that the revision in excise duty will not impact end consumers. “There will be no additional burden on the public, as falling international prices have created room for internal adjustments,” a ministry statement said.

As per the official notification issued by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, the new excise duty structure—₹13 per litre on petrol and ₹10 on diesel—will come into effect from April 8.

Meanwhile, international crude oil prices dropped by over 3% on Monday due to rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China, heightening fears of a global economic slowdown and reduced oil demand.

Earlier, in December 2024, the government had scrapped the windfall profit tax on domestic crude production and fuel exports amid a consistent fall in global oil prices.