Petrol, diesel price relief not anytime soon; here’s why govt may not cut fuel tax despite pressure

While petrol and diesel prices in India continue to rise for the last 21 days, consumers might have to wait before any relief in retail fuel prices, as the government may not cut taxes on fuel anytime soon. Given the importance of petroproducts in the government’s revenue, it appears that the government would rather not cut the tax rates as it would impact revenue collections, Care Ratings said in a report. The central government garnered Rs 4.23 lakh crore in excise duty and VAT collection on petroproducts during the last fiscal year 2019-20, which was 78 per cent of its total excise revenue. The remaining excise duty collection came from crude oil cess and customs; royalties; and CGST.