Petrol excise hiked by Rsd1.60, diesel by 40p

The government on Friday night hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs1.60 per litre and on diesel by 40 paise a litre to mop up additional revenue to meet budgetary targets.

The basic excise duty on unbranded or normal petrol was increased from Rs5.46 per litre to Rs7.06 a litre, according to a notification from the Central Bureau of Excise and Customs (CBSE).

After including additional and special excise duty, the total levy on petrol will be Rs19.06 per litre as against the present levy of Rs17.46.

Similarly on unbranded or normal diesel, excise duty has been increased from Rs4.26 per litre to Rs4.66 a litre.

After including special excise duty, total incidence of excise duty on diesel will be Rs10.66 per litre as against the present Rs10.26.

The excise duty on branded petrol has been hiked from Rs6.64 to Rs8.24 per lire.

Special and additional excise duty of Rs12 per litre will continue as before.

On branded diesel, excise duty has been increased from Rs6.62 to Rs7.02 per litre. Additional excise duty of Rs6 per litre will continue as before.

The government had previously in four instalments raised excise duty on petrol and diesel between November and January to take away the reduction in retail rates that was warranted from falling international oil prices.

The four excise duty hikes between November and January totalled Rs7.75 per litre on petrol and Rs6.50 a litre on diesel. These had led to about Rs20,000 crore in additional revenue to the government, helping it meet its fiscal deficit target.