Even on Monday, a litre of petrol in Mumbai was sold at Rs 90.08, while the price in Delhi was set at Rs 82.72. Diesel, meanwhile, was being sold at Rs 78.58 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 74.02 per litre in Delhi. Fuel prices in the national capital has been the cheapest due to lower taxes and transportation cost whereas Mumbai has highest sale tax or VAT. Maharashtra imposes 25 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on petrol along with a surcharge of Rs 9 for a litre across the state. Likewise for diesel, VAT is 21 per cent in Mumbai, with a surcharge of Rs 1 for a litre across the state.
This relentless hike in fuel prices over the past few weeks has irked anger among the people across the country. Several Opposition parties and state government have questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for not taking proper measures to put a tab on oil prices. However, the government has maintained that the hike in oil prices is due to the international factors such as increase in crude oil prices.
The government has also stated that it would not roll out any immediate reduction in excise duty to down the fuel prices. Rather it has asked the state government to cut down VAT on the fuel.