Govt keeps oil excise hike option open

Govt has urged states to cut VAT on the two fuels by at least 5% to give relief to consumers

A day after the Union government cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre, a senior finance ministry official hinted on Wednesday that the levy could be hiked to the previous level once global crude oil prices cool down. The government, meanwhile, asked states to cut the value-added tax (VAT) on the two fuels by at least 5 per cent to give relief to consumers.

“We do not expect the trend of oil prices to continue to be high; it may get subdued. Then there will again be scope for imposing it (previous excise duty rate),”