Karnataka Govt hikes petrol, diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre

Karnataka Govt hikes petrol, diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, June 15, 2024: Fuel prices in Karnataka have increased by Rs 3 as the state government hiked tax on petrol and diesel on June 15, which will come into immediate effect.

As per the state government notification on Saturday, Karnataka Sales Tax (KST) has been increased from 25.92 percent to 29.84 percent on petrol and from 14.3 percent to 18.4 percent on diesel.

The notification issued by the state finance department stated that the price hike will come into effect immediately.

In Bengaluru, petrol is currently selling at Rs 99.84 per litre, while diesel is selling at Rs 85.93 per litre. The last revision was in November 2021, when the previous BJP state government reduced petrol prices by Rs 13.30 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 19.40 per litre to help revive the economy after Covid-19.

The fuel price hike comes after the Lok Sabha polls, and the Congress-led state government has to spend Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore annually for the implementation of five guarantees.

A senior finance department official told media that increase in fuel prices will help to mobilise around Rs 2,500-Rs 2,800 crore in this financial year.

To generate additional revenue to fund guarantees, the state government has also increased guidance value of properties by 15-30 percent, imposed additional excise duty (AED) on Indian-made liquor (IML) by 20 percent on all slabs and AED on beer from 175 percent to 185 percent, imposed 3 percent additional cess on newly-registered transport vehicles, introduced a lifetime tax on EVs (electric vehicles) above Rs 25 lakh, and intensified tax collection.