Delhi govt slashes VAT on fuel to 19.4%, petrol gets cheaper by ₹8 per litre

The Delhi government on Wednesday slashed the value added tax (VAT) to fuel price from 30% to 19.40%, making petrol cheaper by ₹8 per litre in the national capital.

The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier in the day.

Taking to Twitter, soon after announcing the decision, Kejriwal said once implemented the fuel price would become cheaper in Delhi as compared to other cities in the national capital region.

The Centre cut excise duty on petrol by ₹5 per litre and ₹10 per litre on diesel to bring down the retail prices across the country on the eve of Diwali last month.

Following the Centre's surprise move, several states and Union territories, especially those governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies, also followed suit. 

The price of fuel remained unchanged for the 28th straight day on Wednesday across the country, following the Centre's decision. Before the Delhi government's decision to slash VAT on fuel price, petrol fetched ₹103.97 a litre while diesel was being sold for ₹86.67 per litre earlier in the day.

On the day, the rates of petrol and diesel varied across several cities. While petrol cost ₹95.51 a litre in neighbouring Noida, in Gurugram it fetched ₹95.9 for each litre, ₹94.23 in Chandigarh, ₹95.28 in Lucknow and ₹107.06 in Jaipur. The price of petrol in other metro cities also remained above the 100-mark. While in Mumbai it cost the highest at ₹109.98 a litre, in Kolkata it came for ₹104.67, while in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad it cost ₹101.4, ₹100.58 and ₹108.2, respectively.

Similarly, diesel fetched ₹87.01 a litre in Noida while it cost ₹87.11 in neighbouring Gurugram. In Chandigarh, diesel cost ₹80.9 for each litre, ₹86.8 in Lucknow and ₹90.7 in Jaipur. Among the metros, diesel came for ₹94.14 in Mumbai, ₹89.79 in Kolkata, ₹91.43 in Chennai while in Bengaluru and Hyderabad it cost ₹85.01 and ₹94.62, respectively.

Government-run oil refiners such as Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum revise the fuel rates on a daily basis, by taking into account the crude oil prices in the international markets, and the rupee-dollar exchange rates.