The Government will not cut excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion spiralling prices, which touched fresh highs Tuesday, as it has limited fiscal space available to take any dent in revenue collections, a top official said.
With imports becoming costlier because of a free-fall in rupee, the government believes the current account deficit will overshoot the target and it cannot "disturb fiscal maths by cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel," the official, who wished not to be identified, said.
Petrol and diesel prices Tuesday touched fresh highs as rupee hit record low of 71.54, making imports costlier.
Petrol price in Delhi rose to a record Rs 79.31 a litre and diesel climbed to an all-time high of Rs 71.34, renewing calls for a cut in excise duty to cushion the spike.