Can a petrol price relief happen? | Fusion - WeRIndia

Recently, the prices for diesel and petroleum have been hitting new record highs every day. On May 19th, petrol prices reached an all-time high since 2013. On May 20th, petrol prices beat the record set on May 19th.

On May 21st, a new all-time record high price was created in Delhi and Mumbai, where the prices touched ₹76.57 and ₹84.40 respectively.

Crude oil prices are unquestionably on the rise. There are several reasons for the continuously rising prices of crude oil.

Oil exporters have given production cuts. Supplies of oil from Venezuela are shrinking. There is also uncertainty over Iran’s contribution to the rise in crude oil prices, after the United States decided to exit the nuclear deal.

However, it seems that the rising prices of crude oil are not the only cause for the rising price of petrol. The government is blaming the increasing prices of crude oil for the record-high petrol and diesel prices.

Yet five years ago, when the price of petrol last crossed the ₹76 line, it was 40% costlier before taxes. This indicates that part of the reason that the prices of petrol and diesel are rising so high is because of the high taxes placed on them.

The central tax on diesel has increased more than threefold. The central tax on petrol has doubled. The Center earned about 2.7 lakh crore from duties and taxes on petroleum products from 2016 to 2017.

This is 117% higher than the money earned from taxes and duties on petroleum products from 2014 to 2015, which amounted to 1.3 lakh crore.

However, Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has said that the Center is sensitive toward the rising fuel prices. He also said that various alternatives are being explored and that he hopes that something will work out soon.

Hopefully, the Center will lower taxes on petrol and diesel to bring the price of petrol down from this record high.

Image credit: Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay  (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/it/photos/benzina-diesel-gas-996617/