NEW DELHI, May 29: Despite the increase in excise duty during the lockdown, no additional burden has been put on consumers of petrol, diesel and kerosene and the prices did not increase the duration, a highly placed government source said on Friday.
Asked about the benefit of the fall in global crude oil prices to consumers, the source said that the prices of petrol diesel have not increased during the lockdown.
Although the source admitted that some states have increased VAT which would have increased the rates in the respective states, but the increase in excise duty by the central government has not increased the prices.
It is noteworthy that the lockdown imposed to curb spread of Corona virus globally, especially in developed and developing countries, led to a huge reduction in the demand for oil, which saw a huge drop in its prices globally.
Oil prices in the US had become negative. At the same time, a drastic reduction in oil prices was expected at the domestic level as well, but the government kept the prices unchanged by increasing the excise duty. Some states have increased VAT with the aim of raising funds to deal with Corona pandemic which has increased its prices there.
On Friday, global crude oil prices were also under pressure. US crude fell 3 per cent to USD 32.70 a barrel from the previous day and Brent crude slipped 2.04 per cent to USD 34.57 a barrel. (UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
