Govt. gains Rs 1.6 lakh cr. from excise duty hike on petrol, diesel

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ The Union government will gain close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues this fiscal from a record hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel that has pushed the total incidence of taxation on auto fuels to 70 per cent of the price.

Late on Tuesday evening, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.

Petrol price remained unchanged at Rs 71.26 a litre and diesel at Rs 69.39 as State-owned oil firms set off the excise duty hike against gains they accrued from fall in international oil rates.

This is the second hike in excise duty in less than two months and will help the government garner over Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues annually at 2019-20 level of consumption, industry officials said.