New Delhi: Amid the growing concern over rising fuel prices across the country, the Government of India on Wednesday announced an excise duty reduction on petrol and diesel.
As per the announcement, excise duty has been reduced by Rs 5 on petrol and Rs 10 on diesel. The Centre has said the new prices will be effective from Thursday.
The much-needed relief came after oil marketing companies decided to keep the retail price of petrol and diesel unchanged on Wednesday.
Currently, pump price of petrol in Delhi remains at Rs 110.04 a litre, while diesel prices also remained at Tuesday's level of Rs 98.42 a litre. In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol prices remain at Rs 115.85 per litre, while diesel is at Rs 106.62 a litre, the highest among all metros.
Meanwhile, Centre has also urged to commensurately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.
"The reduction in excise duty on diesel will be double that of petrol. The Indian farmers have, through their hard work, kept the economic growth momentum going even during the lockdown phase and the massive reduction in excise on diesel will come as a boost to the farmers during the upcoming Rabi season," government said in an official release.
"The reduction in excise duty on Petrol and Diesel will also boost consumption and keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes. Today's decision is expected to further spur the overall economic cycle," it added.