Petrol price cut by Rs 5.7-6.35, diesel by Rs 11.16-12.88 across country
New Delhi (PTI): Petrol price on Thursday was cut in the range of Rs 5.7 to Rs 6.35 per litre across the country and diesel rates by Rs 11.16 to Rs 12.88 as oil companies passed on a record reduction in excise duty rates to consumers.
Buckling under pressure, the government had on Wednesday cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 10 a litre to give reprieve to consumers battered by record high retail fuel prices.
Since states charge local sales tax or VAT not just on the base price but also on the excise duty levied by the Centre, the total incidence of price reduction is higher. The reduction was larger in states with higher VAT.
In Delhi, the reduction in petrol price was Rs 6.07 per litre and that on diesel was Rs 11.75, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
The lowest reduction in petrol price was in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu where rate was cut by Rs 5.7. Rajasthan saw the biggest drop of Rs 6.35 a litre.
For diesel, Chennai had the lowest reduction of Rs 11.16 per litre while Odisha had the biggest at Rs 12.88 a litre.
In addition, half a dozen BJP-ruled states have announced a cut in VAT rates but a formal notification has so far been issued only in case of four. Puducherry saw an additional Rs 7 a litre reduction in both petrol and diesel price because of the cut in value added tax (VAT).
Goa saw an additional Rs 5.47 a litre cut in petrol and Rs 4.38 on diesel.
Gujarat too had an additional reduction of Rs 5.65 a litre on petrol and Rs 4.32 on diesel. Uttarakhand saw an additional 81 paise reduction in petrol price because of VAT cut.
Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tripura and Bihar too have announced VAT reduction but a formal notification was not issued till Thursday morning and so no additional price reduction has been effected, industry sources said.
Petrol will cost Rs 103.97 per litre in Delhi against Rs 110.04, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Diesel rates accordingly will reduce to Rs 86.67 per litre from Rs 98.42.
In Mumbai, petrol price has been cut by Rs 5.87 to Rs 109.98 and diesel by Rs 12.48 to Rs 94.14. Kolkata saw the price of petrol being reduced by Rs 5.82 to Rs 104.67 and that of diesel by Rs 11.77 to Rs 89.79.
Petrol price in Chennai has been reduced by Rs 5.26 to Rs 101.40 and diesel by Rs 11.16 to Rs 91.43.
VAT rates differ from state to state, leading to differential rates of fuel.
The excise duty cut announced on Wednesday night was the highest-ever reduction in excise duty. It rolls back a part of the Rs 13 and Rs 16 per litre increase in taxes on petrol and diesel effected between March 2020 and May 2020 to avoid passing on to consumers the sharp fall in international oil prices at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That hike in excise duty had taken central taxes on petrol to their highest level of Rs 32.9 per litre and that on diesel to Rs 31.8 a litre.
Reducing the excise duty, the union government also urged states to commensurately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.
The tax cut follows an unrelenting hike in international oil prices pushing pump rates across the country to their highest-ever levels. While petrol soared to above Rs 100-a-litre-mark in all major cities, diesel had crossed that level in more than one-and-a-half dozen states.
The total increase in petrol price since the May 5, 2020 decision of the government to raise excise duty to record levels had totalled Rs 38.78 per litre. Diesel rates have during this period gone up by Rs 29.03 per litre.
The relentless increase in fuel prices had been severely criticised by Opposition parties, particularly Congress which had demanded that the government reduce its excise duty.
Based on April to October consumption numbers, the loss of revenue to the government due to the excise duty cut will be Rs 8,700 crore per month. This totals to an annual impact of over Rs 1 lakh crore, industry sources said. For the remainder of the current fiscal, the impact would be Rs 43,500 crore.
Data available from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in the Union Ministry of Finance showed excise duty collections during April-September 2021 surged to over Rs 1.71 lakh crore, from Rs 1.28 lakh crore mop-up in the same period of the previous fiscal.
For the full 2020-21 fiscal, excise collections were Rs 3.89 lakh crore and Rs 2.39 lakh crore in 2019-20, the CGA data showed.
After the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, excise duty is levied only on petrol, diesel, ATF and natural gas. All other goods and services are under the GST regime.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli had in July told Parliament that the union government's tax collections on petrol and diesel jumped by 88 per cent to Rs 3.35 lakh crore in the year to March 31, 2021 (2020-21 fiscal) from Rs 1.78 lakh crore a year back.
Excise collection in pre-pandemic 2018-19 was Rs 2.13 lakh crore.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
