Reuters, New Delhi

India’s finance ministry is considering cutting excise duties on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact of record high domestic prices, three government officials close to the discussions said.

A doubling in the price of crude oil over the past 10 months has contributed to record fuel prices at gas stations in India. But taxes and duties account for roughly 60 per cent of the retail price of petrol and diesel in the country, the world’s third biggest consumer of crude oil.

As the coronavirus pandemic hit economic activity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government twice raised taxes on petrol and diesel in the last 12 months to boost sagging tax revenues instead of passing on the benefits of low oil prices last year to consumers.