Vikrant Shekhawat : Aug 20, 2021, 02:13 PM
New Delhi: State-run fuel retailers on Friday cut diesel rates by 20 paise a litre for the third day in a row that took the total reduction to 60 paise from Wednesday, a 0.66% fall from its record level, but kept petrol rates unchanged even as international oil prices plunged 3.7% in these three days due to demand concerns.Diesel rates have started falling since Wednesday after they remained frozen at the historical high of ₹89.87 a litre for 34 days since July 15. While diesel is now sold at ₹89.27 per litre in Delhi, petrol prices are still frozen at record ₹101.84 a litre for last 35 days since July 17.While fuel rates of state-run Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) pumps in Delhi are the benchmark for the entire country, retail prices of the two fuels differ from place to place because of variations in state taxes and local levies.International oil prices that fell for a sixth day on Thursday amid worries of surging Covid-19 cases and increased supplies of crude oil in the market from large producers, recovered a bit on Friday trade. Benchmark Brent crude, which fell by over 2.6% to $66.45 a barrel on Thursday, opened marginally up at $66.54 on Friday and was hovering around $66.71 with a gain of 0.39%.While international oil prices impact pump rates of auto fuels because India imports more than 80% crude it processes, steep taxes are the other reason for high rates of petrol and diesel.In Delhi, central levies account for 32.3% of petrol’s price and state taxes, 23.07%, according to an official data of August 1. On diesel, Central taxes are over 35.38% while state taxes are about 14.62%.Through 2020, as global crude prices fell, the central government raised excise duty on the fuel to shore up its finances. States too followed suit -- with revenues hit on account of the pandemic. According to official data, petroleum sector contributed ₹3,71,726 crore central excise revenue in 2020-21, and ₹2,02,937 crore state levies or value added tax (VAT).