(ET)
Sharon Furtado and her three friends who work with media firms in Parel, car-pool every day from Borivali to their workplaces. Saturday’s hike in petrol prices will add at least Rs 120 to each one’s monthly travel bill. But what has upset Sharon the most is a little-known detail: they are now paying 153% in taxes over the per litre price at which petrol is sold by refineries to oil companies.
Given today’s crude price and dollar-rupee exchange rates, the cost of petrol supplied by oil companies inclusive of their marketing charges is Rs 29.54 per litre (see graphic). But in Mumbai, consumers end up paying Rs.77.50 per litre owing to a raft of duties and cess. Consumers here pay Rs 47.96 per litre in taxes and duties over and above the price at which it lands in the market. These levies include central excise duty , state VAT, octroi, cess and commission for petrol pump owners, translating into 153 % in taxes.
