Retail prices of petrol and diesel in India have reached record highs as global prices of crude continue to surge because of a drop in Iranian exports and declining inventories. The depreciation of the rupee against the dollar has pushed the price of oil as India is the third-largest importer of crude globally. Petroleum is an important revenue source for the government. Of the Rs 8 lakh-crore of excise, service tax and GST collected last year by the Union government, around 36% was from the petroleum sector. According to CARE Ratings, around 20% of states’ own tax revenue came from petroleum products. Sales tax/VAT rates vary from 16% in Goa to 39.5% in Maharashtra (Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai). As petrol and diesel are out of the GST framework, there is no compulsion on states to lower VAT rates on these products.
The oil import bill rose 25% in FY18 to $109 billion and domestic production of crude has remained stagnant. Rising oil prices and a larger oil import bill could mean that India’s CAD is likely to widen to 2.6% of GDP in the current fiscal from 1.9% in FY18. Also, an increase in petrol and diesel prices will stoke both retail and whole-sale inflation.
Source: financialexpress.com