Petrol price hike can't wait any longer: OMCs

April 18, 2012

petrol

New Delhi, April 18: Fed up with the Centre's “indecision” on allowing an increase in fuel prices in the face of the rising international crude prices, the oil marketing companies on Tuesday virtually threatened to increase petrol prices by Rs. 8.04 a litre, asking the government to either cut excise duty on petrol and give them Rs. 49 crore a day in compensation.

In a joint representation, the oil marketing companies asked the government to bring petrol back under the regulated regime.

Petrol prices were deregulated in June 2010. With a 20 per cent value-added tax, the price of petrol, if an increase is effected, will go up by Rs. 9.60 in New Delhi.

“We have been very patient, not raising prices since December despite our cost of production spiralling. But there is a limit to which we can borrow money and produce fuel for the country,” Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman R. S. Butola said here. IOC issued a formal statement, pointing to the anomalies in the subsidy mechanism and highlighting related issues.

IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited are losing Rs. 49 crore a day on petrol sales alone. They are losing another Rs. 573 crore a day on the sale below cost of diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.

Mr. Butola said the oil marketing companies lost Rs. 745 crore in the first 15 days of April in revenue from petrol sale. “We have suggested that the government temporarily end deregulation and give subsidy to make up for the difference between the cost of production and the sale price. Alternatively, the government can cut the excise duty of Rs. 14.78 it collects when a consumer buys one litre of petrol.”

The States levied VAT or sales tax, ranging from 15 to 33 per cent (Rs. 10.30- Rs. 18.74 a litre), and this too could be cut to avoid a price increase. “If our suggestions are not accepted, we will have no option but to increase the price of petrol by Rs. 8.04 a litre (excluding the State levies) with immediate effect,” the IOC statement said. The last revision of petrol price was effected on December 1, 2011. Then, IOC cut the price by Rs. 0.65 a litre on top of an earlier reduction of Rs.1.85 on November 16 that year.

“The international petrol prices have since gone up progressively and stand at $132.45 a barrel in the current pricing period. This is much higher than the price of $109.03 a barrel at which IOC and other oil marketing companies are selling petrol,” the statement said. The company's inability to effect the hike between December 16, 2011 and March 31, 2012 resulted in Rs.1,036 crores of under-recoveries for IOC alone, and Rs. 2,287 crore for all companies.

The statement said IOC and other companies approached the government several times for revising petrol prices, suggesting that motor spirit be brought within the ambit of controlled products temporarily, or statutory levies on it lowered to the extent of loss being suffered by the companies owing to their inability to pass on the increase in prices to consumers.

“The current situation is not sustainable and therefore cannot continue. The continuation of such [a] pricing [formula] will only impede the ability of the company to import crude oil and may affect the supply-demand balance. The company is awaiting the government's response to its requests; should no relief come, it will have no option but to effect the aforesaid increase in motor spirit prices,” the statement said.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would formally kickstart the BJP's Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka on Saturday from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's home turf— Kalaburagi.

He is scheduled to address a mega public meeting at the district headquarters town's N V Ground at 2 pm.

Kharge, who had represented Kalaburagi (Gulbarga Lok Sabha segment) twice in the past, lost to BJP's Umesh Jadhav by a margin of 95,452 votes in the 2019 general elections here— the octogenarian leader's first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades.

BJP has once again fielded Jadhav from the segment.

Speculations are rife that the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, who has the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, may not contest the coming polls and, instead, the Congress is likely to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman, who also manages educational institutions.

On March 18, Modi will be in Shivamogga, the home district of veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, and is scheduled to address a huge public meeting at 2 pm.

Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is the sitting MP from Shivamogga and has been re-nominated by the party. Yediyurappa's other son B Y Vijayendra, who represents Shikaripura assembly constituency in the district, is the state BJP President.

BJP has announced candidates for 20 seats in the State, which has a total of 28 constituencies.

After being ousted from power by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls, the BJP now is making a strong bid to regain the lost ground in Karnataka.

The BJP won 25 out of total 28 seats in the previous elections, and had ensured the win of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya. The then ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance had come a cropper winning just one seat each.

It is a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the NDA last September and has forged an electoral alliance with the BJP. The regional party is expected to contest in three seats— Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.

Sharing details of Modi's visit, state BJP General Secretary Sunil Kumar on Wednesday said BJP National President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath along with other leaders will visit different Lok Sabha constituencies for campaigning in the coming days.

Speaking about the party's poll preparations, he said: "We have divided 28 Lok Sabha constituencies into eight clusters for Lok Sabha elections. Keeping in view the local political and geographical background, programmes and strategies are being worked out in those eight clusters."

Several senior leaders including Shah and Nadda have already visited one of these clusters, Kumar said, adding, "Workers' convention, well-wishers' contacts have been made and election preparations are on in all these eight clusters. In the second phase, large public meetings will be held."

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News Network
March 29,2024

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The Income Tax department has issued a notice of approximately Rs 1,800 crore to the Congress party, exacerbating its financial concerns ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections, multiple reports revealed on Friday.

The development comes after the Delhi High Court rejected the party's plea challenging reassessment proceedings for four assessment years.

The new demand pertains to assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalties and interest. The Congress party now awaits reassessment for three other assessment years, expected to conclude by Sunday, the stipulated deadline, said a report.

Congress lawyer and RS MP Vivek Tankha alleged that the fresh notice of nearly Rs 1,800 crore was served on the party on Thursday without key accompanying documents.

"We received the demand notice without assessment orders. The govt appeared keener to serve us with demand rather than issue us reasons for reassessment," a news paper quoted Tankha as saying. He further added, "this is how the main opposition party is being strangled financially, and that too during the Lok Sabha elections".

Delhi HC rejects plea

The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, dismissed petitions filed by the Congress challenging the initiation of tax reassessment proceedings spanning four years by tax authorities. Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, comprising the bench, stated that the pleas were rejected in line with their earlier decision to abstain from intervening in the reopening of reassessment for an additional year.

The subject matter of the case pertained to assessment years from 2017 to 2021.

In a previous petition dismissed the week before, the Congress party had contested the initiation of reassessment proceedings concerning assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17.

The High Court dismissed the plea, citing that the tax authority had prima facie gathered "substantial and concrete" evidence warranting further scrutiny. The tax department alleged that approximately Rs 520 crore had evaded assessment during these three years.

Additionally, the department revealed that searches conducted on entities, including some purportedly linked to Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar and a company in Surat, had uncovered cash transactions involving Congress. These transactions were cited as violations, disqualifying the party from tax exemption available to political parties.

In the absence of exemption, parties are treated as "association of persons" and are obligated to pay taxes on their reported income. Moreover, the cash transactions are included in their total income.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Budget carrier Air India Express has launched a new fare family, offering travelers the option to save on flight tickets by traveling light, with an increased baggage allowance of up to 40kg or no check-in luggage at all.

The new fare categories, applicable to flights to and from the UAE and other international destinations, are:

•    Xpress Lite
•    Xpress Value
•    Xpress Flex
•    Xpress Biz

Xpress Lite offers cabin baggage-only fares, making it the most economical option for passengers traveling with the airline.

Xpress Value fare includes 15 kg check-in bag fares, while Xpress Flex offers unlimited changes with no change fees. Xpress Biz features business class seats, complimentary meals, and priority services.

A subsidiary of Air India and a part of Tata Group, the airline introduced Xpress Lite on February 20 for UAE passengers who prefer traveling without check-in baggage.

Xpress Biz fares are accessible on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Travelers can benefit from increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares. This fare offers priority check-in, baggage, and boarding services.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with Biz seats across 70-plus routes in India.

In a previous interview with a news channel Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, stated that the carrier was looking to increase capacity to the Gulf region, including the UAE, as well as to provide better connectivity to Gulf travelers.
 

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