HIGHLIGHTS

• In Delhi, petrol is retailing at Rs 101.19 per litre.
• The rate of petrol in Mumbai stands at Rs 107.26 per litre on Saturday.
• The GST Council did not include petroleum products under the ambit of GST on Friday.

The prices of petrol and diesel have maintained stability amid volatility in global oil prices on September 18, 2021. The state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have not hiked the rates of petrol and diesel for 13 days in a row. On Friday, the Goods and Service Tax(GST) council disposed of the proposal to include petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST, saying it was not the right time yet.

According to Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer, petrol is retailing at Rs 101.19 per litre in Delhi and the rate of diesel stands at Rs 88.62 per litre. In Mumbai, the price of petrol and diesel remained unaltered at Rs 107.26 and Rs 96.19 per litre on Saturday. According to the state-run oil refiner, fuel rates are the highest in Mumbai among the four metro cities at present.

Similarly, in Chennai, petrol is available at Rs 98.96 per litre and diesel is trading at Rs 93.26 per litre. The prices of petrol and diesel stand at Rs 101.62 and Rs 91.71 per litre in Kolkata, respectively.

Fuel prices won’t be included in GST:

The GST council meeting on Friday chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not include petroleum products in its kitty. According to the Council, it was not the right time to bring the prices of petrol and diesel under the GST regime. She said that a majority of state governments opposed the inclusion of petroleum products under the GST.

The Finance Minister said the panel discussed including petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST as per the direction of the Kerala High Court. However, after much deliberations, it was unanimously decided by the GST council to keep petroleum products out of its regime.

Fuel rates increased 41 times since April:

The rates were last revised on September 5, 2021, when petrol and diesel prices were lowered by 15 paise per litre each. The prices of petrol and diesel are soaring at an all-time high across the country and the rates have been revised 41 times since April this year.

The rates of petrol and diesel vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes like Value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges. The oil companies review and revise the fuel rates on a daily basis and the new prices become effective from the next day, in the morning at 6 AM.

Petrol and diesel prices depend on various factors like valuation of INR against USD, the consumption ratio of refineries and demand for fuel in our country. The fuel prices are revised by oil marketing companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum based on international prices in the preceding 15 days and foreign stock exchange.

Petrol, diesel prices in major Indian cities: