Petrol Price in Salem Today: Rs. 84.06 - Rs. 90.28

Basic Cost of Fuel after Refining, Freight Cost: Rs. 41.19/litre
Additional: Excise Duty + Road Cess as Charged by Central Government: Rs. 17.98/litre
Commission to Petrol Pump Dealers: Rs. 3.56/litre
Additional:VAT (Varies from State to State): Rs. 21.33/litre
Final Retail Price -(calculation): Rs. 84.06/litre *

Locate IOCL Petrol Pumps near you & get Petrol/diesel price (IOCL official site)

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Locate HP Petrol Pumps near you & get Petrol/diesel price (HP official site)

The Price of Petrol & Diesel affect almost every Indian directly or indirectly. Such is the importance of these two that any increase or decrease in their price is widely discussed. The prices change every fortnight based on the changes in the price of crude oil and changes in tax rate. While people at large follow pricing of these two commodities, they do not understand the structure of pricing, the components that add up to the final price.

Crude oil is the major raw material for petrol. At present, 75% of India's crude oil needs are met through imports. And thus, international prices of crude oil and foreign exchange rates are the base components in determining the price of petrol at home. Only 25% of India's crude oil requirement is maintained by private sector companies like Reliance Industries, Cairn India Ltd, and public sector counterparts like Oil India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) among others in this sector.

Barrels of Crude Oil are imported from somewhere in the oil fields of the middle east. The price is calculated in dollars per Barrel. The price in Indian rupees is also dependent on the foreign exchange rates for that fortnight. [ 1 Barrel = 158.987 litre (approx) ].

The Crude Oil is transported to India. Ocean freight and transport charges are now applied to Crude Oil. This Crude oil is now refined to extract Petrol. The Crude Oil is now bought by several Oil Marketing Companies (like IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, Reliance Industries and Essar cater) and then refine Crude Oil to Petrol. Refinery Transfer Price (RTP) is paid by OMCs to Refineries.

This refined Petrol is now sold to Dealers (individuals or businesses that own petrol pumps) by OMCs after adding other expenses & keeping some margin.

The Central Excise Duty is levied by the Central Government (Government of India). This is a fixed amount and not a percentage on the price. The dealer commission is also added to the price after imposition of the Central Excise. The State Governments levy Value Added Tax (VAT) or sales tax on the price arrived at by adding dealer price, central excise duty & dealer commission. The central excise duty, dealer's commission and State Govt's VAT percentage amount are fixed by Govt Fiscal Budget (Revenue & Expenditure)


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