Ahmedabad, March 27 Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday praised the central government's decision to reduce excise duty on petrol and diesel, stating that the move demonstrates its commitment to protecting citizens from the impact of global instability.
The government has reduced the excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and completely exempted diesel from the duty, thereby preventing a price hike at petrol pumps that had become necessary due to soaring global oil prices.
In a notification issued on March 26, the Union finance ministry reduced the excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 per litre, from Rs 13 per litre previously, while the levy on diesel has been reduced to zero from Rs 10 previously.
CM Patel said in a post on X, "Today, when crude oil prices have surged significantly at the global level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again demonstrated his sensitivity towards the citizens by prioritizing their welfare above all. The Central Government has made a substantial reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel, which reflects the PM's commitment to protecting every Indian from the impact of global instability."
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking this public welfare-oriented decision. I also thank Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for implementing this decision promptly," he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said, "Amid the West Asia conflict, while fuel prices in other countries have doubled or shot up to 50%, burdening their citizens, I am grateful to PM Modi for thinking about the common public and reducing excise duty by Rs 10 per litre on both petrol and diesel."
An official release said the central government has reduced excise duty by Rs 10 per litre on both petrol and diesel with immediate effect.
Retail pump prices of petrol and diesel will not change. The excise reduction is not being passed on as a price cut at the pumps, it added.