Karnataka: Govt Hikes Fuel Prices By Rs 3, Check Latest Prices Of Petrol, Diesel In Bengaluru

Karnataka: Prices of petrol and diesel are hiked by Rs 3 and above in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The latest hike comes after the state government revised its sales tax on petroleum products.

With effect from June 15, petrol is up by Rs 3 per litre, while diesel price is increased by Rs 3.02 per litre.

In Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, the price of per litre petrol is Rs 102.84 compared to the earlier price of Rs 99.84. While diesel price is hiked in Silicon City to Rs 88.95 per litre from the previous print of Rs 85.93 per litre.

On Saturday, the Karnataka government revised its sales tax by 29.84% and 18.44% from earlier 25.92% and 14.34%.

This makes the Karnataka government the first to hike petrol and diesel prices after the Lok Sabha election in 2024.

Notably, petrol price in Bengaluru is now costlier from cities like Delhi where per litre is at Rs 94.72, Chandigarh at Rs 94.24, Bhubaneswar at Rs 100.97, Lucknow at Rs 94.56, and Gurgaon at Rs 94.90. However, petrol in Bengaluru is still not the most expensive. Petrol is available at Rs 104.21 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 103.94 in Kolkata, Rs 105.18 in Patna, and Rs 107.56 in Trivandrum of Kerala.

Along similar lines, diesel in Bengaluru is expensive compared to cities like Delhi where per litre is Rs 87.62, in Lucknow at Rs 87.66, in Chandigarh where the price is Rs 82.40 per litre. But at the same time, the price is cheaper from diesel in Mumbai where currently per litre is at Rs 92.15, Kolkata at Rs 90.76, Patna at Rs 92.04 and Trivandrum at Rs 96.43 among others.

However, the middle class of Karnataka have expressed concerns related to the hike. A biker told ANI that "The rich can get petrol, where will we go? I work at a BPO. I will have to get petrol in Rs 15,000 salary...This will affect us vastly."

Furthermore, the hike in fuel prices in the state is also after the central government lowered windfall taxes to Rs 3,250 per tonne on domestically produced crude oil. The windfall earlier was at Rs 5,200 per tonne.

There have been expectations of a hike in petroleum products in India after core inflation cooled to 3.1% at its lowest level in May 2024.

In its latest research note, Antique Stock Broking said, "Core inflation cools further to 3.1% YoY, helped by easing inflationary pressure within the miscellaneous services category (driven by transport, recreation and household goods). However, personal care and effects remain elevated primarily due to gold. Key products seeing deflationary pressures are petrol/ diesel, railway/ air/ bus fare, internet, television, toilet soap, hair oil, toothpaste, cream/ lotion while prices of those that have increased are gold and silver. Going ahead, core inflation may harden due to a lower base and a likely price hike for petroleum products and mobile tariffs."

Apart from sales tax on petroleum products, the Karnataka government has also raised guidance value by 15-30% on properties and levied 20% additional excise duty (AED) on Indian-made liquor (IML) on all slabs.

Further, the government hiked AED on beer to 185% from earlier 175% and levied a 3% additional cess on newly registered transport vehicles. The government also introduced a lifetime tax on EVs (electric vehicles) above the price of Rs 25 lakh.