Govt hikes petrol price by Rs 1.60/litre, diesel by 40 paise

The government late Friday evening announced a hike in the excise duty on petrol by Rs 1.60 per litre and on diesel by 40 paisa a litre. The additional revenue, at a time of a slump in crude prices, will help it meet budgetary targets. 

The basic excise duty on unbranded petrol was increased from Rs 5.46 per litre to Rs 7.06 a litre, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said in a notification. After including additional and special excise duty, the total levy on petrol will be Rs 19.06 per litre as against Rs 17.46 currently.  

Similarly excise duty on unbranded diesel has been increased from Rs 4.26 per litre to Rs 4.66 a litre. After including special excise duty, total incidence of excise duty on diesel will be Rs 10.66 per litre as against Rs 10.26 at present. 

The excise duty on branded petrol has been hiked from Rs 6.64 to Rs 8.24 per lire. On branded diesel, excise duty has been increased from Rs 6.62 to Rs 7.02 per litre.