Government says no plan to hike fuel prices despite OMCs incurring losses

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday said there was no plan to increase retail prices of petrol and diesel despite oil refiners incurring losses amid volatile crude prices in the international market due to the West Asia conflict.Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the petroleum and natural gas ministry, said the government has kept pump prices stable even as oil marketing companies were making under-recoveries of about Rs 20 per litre on petrol and Rs 100 per litre on diesel. She added that the excise duty was reduced by Rs 10 per litre on auto fuel in March to ensure the burden of rising crude prices does not get passed on to consumers."There has been no hike in the prices of petrol and diesel since April 6, 2022. Rather, excise duty was cut in 2022, and prices were reduced in 2024. On March 27 this year, the government again reduced excise duty by Rs 10 per litre on petrol and diesel to keep prices stable in the domestic market," Sharma said, adding that the government has also imposed a tax on fuel exports to "motivate" refiners to prioritise domestic sales.Earlier in the day, the petroleum ministry dismissed reports suggesting a price hike in petrol and diesel after the assembly elections, and said that there was no such proposal under the government's consideration. It also termed the reports "mischievous and misleading" and said that they were "designed to create fear and panic".