The government has reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre, cutting the duty on petrol to ₹3 per litre and that on diesel to zero (from ₹10) to combat surging international crude oil prices
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The government on Thursday reiterated that there is no proposal “under consideration” to raise retail prices of auto fuels even as the PSU oil marketing companies are bearing under recoveries of around ₹20 a litre on petrol and ₹100 on diesel.
India had a combined daily under-recovery of around ₹2,400 crore (till March 27, 2026), as per the Oil Ministry. Around March 27th, at current international crude prices, under-recoveries stood at approximately ₹26 per litre on petrol and ₹81.90 per litre on diesel. While around April 2nd, there was an under recovery of ₹24.40 per litre on petrol and ₹104.99 on diesel.
Decline in Imports
According to Kotak Institutional Equities, relative to 11M FY26, the Indian crude basket rose by $47 per barrel in March 2026 and $53 in the first half of April. Despite a 13-15 per cent decline in imports, India’s crude import bill has increased by $190-210 million per day.
On raising petrol and diesel prices after the state assembly elections, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum & natural Gas (MoPNG), said “There is no such proposal under consideration by the government.”
“Under-recovery may be around Rs 20 per litre on petrol and around Rs 100 on diesel,” she added.
Keeping Prices Stable
Sharma emphasised that there is a “lot of volatility” in international crude oil prices. However, the government has not raised retail prices of auto fuels.
“If you look at crude basket, the oil we were purchasing for $70 per barrel (FY26 average), it has increased to an average of more than $113 per barrel in this month (April 2026). If you look at the Indian basket from November 2021 to March 2026, there is a huge increase and in spite of that the government has not increased the price. Government’s effort has been to keep prices stable,” she added.
Sharma said that the government has not raised the retail prices of petrol and diesel since April 6, 2022.
India imports more than 88 per cent of its crude oil requirement, and higher oil prices coupled with a weak India Rupee will adversely impact its current account deficit. An increase of $1 per barrel leads to an annual increase of roughly ₹16,000 crore in the import bill. In FY25, India’s crude oil import bill was around $137 billion.
Excise Duty
Private refiners such as Nayara Energy and Shell have already raised fuel prices.
The government has reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre, cutting the duty on petrol to ₹3 per litre and that on diesel to zero (from ₹10) to combat surging international crude oil prices. Alongside, it also imposed a windfall tax on diesel and jet fuel exports so as to “motivate” refiners to prioritise domestic sales, she said.
Sharma noted that the Saudi CP (LPG benchmark) increased by 102 per cent between July 2023 and April 2026, while LPG prices in India fell 17 per cent. “Data is speaking for itself and the effort of the government is also visible,” she added.
Published on April 23, 2026
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