NEW DELHI, April 7: The Central government on Monday announced a hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, according to an official notification issued by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.

The revised rates will come into effect from April 8, 2025, the notification confirmed.

Following the hike, the excise duty on petrol has been increased to Rs 13 per litre and that on diesel to Rs 10 per litre, as per the order.

However, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has assured that there will be no burden on the common man, emphasizing that retail prices of petrol and diesel will remain unchanged.

“PSU Oil Marketing Companies have informed that there will be no increase in retail prices of Petrol and Diesel, subsequent to the increase effected in Excise Duty Rates today,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas stated in a post on X.

The government justified the duty hike as a measure taken “in public interest,” citing Section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and Section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002, in its official order.

This development comes months after the government, in December 2024, scrapped the windfall profit tax on domestic crude and fuel exports. The windfall tax had originally been imposed on July 1, 2022, in response to surging global oil prices, but was lifted amid a steady decline in those prices.