Finance Ministry rejects the proposal to cut taxes on petrol: Report

27 Apr 2012 Evaluate

The Finance Ministry has reportedly rejected the proposal of oil ministry to cut taxes on petrol by Rs 6 per litre. The decision may come as a blow to oil companies who have been demanding that either the government cut the taxes on petrol or allow them to hike the prices of the fuel by Rs 9.6 a litre.

As per the oil companies, they have been losing Rs 49 crore per day on petrol sale alone. Further they are losing Rs 573 crore every day on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost. Hence they have demanded that either the government should temporarily end deregulation for petrol and provide them with subsidies to make up for the difference or cut the Rs 14.78 excise duty it collects when a consumer buys one litre of petrol or they be allowed to hike petrol prices. The government so far is in no mood of doing so, since the first solution reduces its revenue and the other makes it politically unpopular.

Petrol has been deregulated by the government. However oil companies continue to take permission from the center before any price change. Petrol prices were last revised on December 1, when PSU oil firms reduced rates by Rs 0.65 a litre on top of an earlier price reduction of Rs 1.85 per litre effected from November 16, 2011. However since then global prices of crude oil have surged but oil companies have not been allowed to increase prices due to crucial assembly elections.

Now with the elections done, demands have turned into threats with oil companies clearly stating that either they be subsidized for the loss or they will be left with no option but to hike petrol prices. For the full 2011-12 fiscal, IOC lost Rs 2,236 crore on selling petrol below cost during different times of the year and the industry (IOC plus BPCL and HPCL) together lost Rs 4,859 crore. These were over and above Rs 138,800 crore the industry lost on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.

 

 

 

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×