Petrol and diesel prices hiked for the ninth time in the last ten days on Thursday by 80 paise per litre on petrol and 80 paise per litre on diesel. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 101.81 per litre, up from Rs 101.01, while diesel prices will rise from Rs 92.27 to Rs 93.07. 

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This revision is based on the average of international benchmark prices over the past 15 days, and state-run OMCs – Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd(HPCL) – could revise retail petrol and diesel prices daily.

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In a report on March 24, Moody’s Investors Service said that fuel retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL have together lost around $2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue in March by keeping petrol and diesel prices unchanged despite a sharp rise in crude oil prices. 

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Petrol and diesel prices in Mumbai, the country’s financial hub, were hiked by 84 paise to Rs 116.72 a litre and Rs 100.94 a litre, respectively.

In Kolkata, petrol and diesel cost Rs 111.35 and Rs 96.22, respectively, and Rs 107.45 and Rs 97.52 in Chennai.  The first increase in petrol and diesel prices this year announced on March 22 was the first hike in 137 days.  

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Diesel prices had dropped significantly as a result of the Centre’s and states’ tax reductions last year. The Centre’s cut in excise tax, followed by reductions in VAT in various states, has resulted in a dramatic decline in petrol and diesel rates after they had hit an all-time high.

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It should be mentioned that the national government declared an excise duty drop of Rs 5 per litre for petrol and Rs 10 per litre for diesel on the eve of Diwali 2021. 

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Following the Centre’s decision, various states, including Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Mizoram, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Bihar, have reduced VAT on fuel prices. VAT has also been reduced in three union territories: Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir, and Chandigarh.