Chennai: Fuel prices continued to rise with petrol and diesel prices touching new highs in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai today.
As per the prices announced under the daily dynamic pricing regime by the state-run IOC, fuel prices continued to rise in the country. The surge in fuel prices is largely due to the rise in the cost of crude oil and the high excise duty levied on the transportation of fuel in the country.
Petrol per liutre is priced at Rs 81.99 in Chennai. Also the deisel prices were hiked and it stood at Rs 74.77 per litre.
As a result, owners of car, lorry, bus and two-wheelers are worst-hit.
The rise in diesel prices, that surpassed previous highs across metros, gains significance as it is mostly used in vehicles for transportation of food and agricultural products, which could lead to higher inflation.
The Union Finance Ministry has not mooted any proposal to bring petrol and diesel or even natural gas under GST but took up the issue at the last GST Council meeting on 4 August based on media reports.
If the two fuels are put under GST, the Centre will have to let go Rs 20,000 crore input tax credit it currently pockets by keeping petrol, diesel, natural gas, jet fuel and crude oil out of the GST regime.
States, on the other hand, want to keep a revenue tool in their hand to meet any contingency like the floods in Kerala.
The unbridled rise in fuel prices is severely hitting the transport business. Vehicle owners have stopped taking orders as the business has become unviable, said Sivakumar, a businessman in Koyambedu. He said the he government should consider this as an emergency and look for immediate corrective measures.
An office-bearer of All-India Motor Transport Congress saidmore than 35 lakh of the 95.4 lakh trucks in India are off road. The southern States put together have around 26 lakh trucks, of which more than eight lakh are off the road.