With global crude oil prices breaching the $60-a-barrel mark, the Centre on Thursday indicated it could examine the possibility of a further cut in excise duty on fuel.
“Let us see,” Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said when asked about the scope of a further cut in excise duty.
On October 3, the Centre had lowered the excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹2 a litre to cushion the impact of high prices on the common man. However, the cut was not easy for the Exchequer, which faces a revenue loss of ₹13,000 crore in the second half of the financial year. The Finance Ministry had taken $60/barrel as the price point to work out the numbers in this year’s Union Budget.
Sources said any decision on a further cut in excise duty would be taken after discussions with the Finance Ministry. “We are monitoring the prices at present,” said an official source.