June has dawned but brings along with the first hike of the month. The last hike was on May 30. With today’s price increase, the petrol in Mumbai is costlier by 53 paise a litre atRs 100.72 and diesel by 52 paise at Rs 92.69 a litre. In the past 26 days, petrol has become  costlier by Rs 3.60 a litre and diesel by Rs 4.50 a litre.

In Delhi, petrol today costs Rs 94.49 a litre and diesel Rs 85.38 a litre. The high level of taxation – both at the Centre and State level – is the key contributor to the sky-high prices of the two fuels.

Look at the data sheet below which reveals the extent to which the two fuels are taxed, with Delhi as the benchmark. This is today’s index.

Of the Rs 94.49 price of a petrol litre in the capital city, Rs 32.90 or 34.81% is charged as the Central government’s ‘Excise Duty’ and Rs 21.81 or 23.08% is what the state levies. Put together, taxes account for Rs 54.71 or nearly 58% of the price of petrol a motorist pays in Delhi.

It’s similar with diesel, which costs Rs 85.38 a litre in Delhi today. While Central taxes comprise Rs 31.80 or 37.25% of the price, state VAT accounts for Rs 12.50 or 10.67% of the retail price. Cumulatively, taxes comprise Rs 44.30 or 52% of the final selling price to the consumer.