The taxes levied by the central and state governments on petrol and diesel are again on the spotlight with domestic petrol prices hitting record highs. In Delhi, petrol prices today retailed at ₹84.70 a litre while diesel was retailing at ₹74.88 per litre, after an overnight hike of 25 paise. Besides taxes, in India, the price of petrol and diesel you pay at the pump is dependent on international product prices, rupee-dollar exchange rate and other factors like dealer margin and freight charges. Petrol and diesel do not come under the purview of goods and services tax (GST).
Based on the January 1 price of petrol in Delhi of ₹83.71 per litre, the base price of the fuel was ₹27.37 per litre, according to Indian Oil website. Including freight levy of ₹0.37 per litre, price charged to dealers (excluding excise duty and VAT) was ₹27.74 per litre.
Add to it excise duty of ₹32.98 per litre and dealer commission, which averaged ₹3.67 per litre. On this, further add VAT or value added tax (including VAT on dealer commission) of ₹19.32 per litre. Then comes the final retail selling price of petrol of ₹83.71 a litre ((January 1 price) in Delhi.
