indian govt takes note of oil situation: fuel prices: government intervenes; Taxes may be reduced! – indian govt takes note of oil situation, assessing options of tax cut meeting soon

Eight years after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, international oil prices have crossed $ 100 a barrel. Oil, which started at $ 97 a barrel, is currently trading at $ 104. Under the current circumstances, there is no doubt that local oil prices will rise. The Prime Minister’s Office has informed the Ministry of Finance to assess the excise levels in this case, CNBC reported. TV18 reported. The Finance Ministry is assessing the extent to which the excise setback can be contained.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet the finance minister and other key officials on Thursday evening to discuss the economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and ways to mitigate the impact of rising crude oil prices, government sources said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government is aware of the rising cost of crude oil.

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Crude oil prices are expected to rise further if the Russia-Ukraine war continues. The previous record was set in 2014, when crude oil prices rose sharply. Russia supplies about a third of Europe’s fuel. Therefore, the assessment is that the war situation may further increase the price of crude oil.

Since June 2017, India has been following the pattern of changing local fuel prices in line with international oil prices. But for a number of reasons, the country’s oil companies have not changed prices since last November. This is the first time in days since the daily price revision that petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged.

The oil companies went silent on November 4 last year after the central government reduced the excise duty on fuels. At that time, the excise duty was reduced by Rs 10 for diesel and Rs 5 for petrol. At that time the international oil price was $ 82-84. But when prices plummeted in the wake of the Omikron crisis, oil companies did not allow concessions on fuel prices.

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It is up to the companies to maintain this silence despite the continuous decline in fuel prices. The government also tacitly agreed to this. But now things are in favor of companies. International oil prices have risen by about 20 per cent since November. If local fuel prices rise, inflation is sure to rise. Currently, companies are not raising prices just because the country is hot on the heels of elections. In the past too, companies have been silent on elections.

Just before the budget, the oil companies had reduced the price of commercial cylinders. At the same time, the price of aviation fuel had reached record highs. Today’s meeting chaired by the Prime Minister will be crucial in terms of fuel prices. There are indications that taxes may be reduced to keep fuel prices from rising sharply.

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