Cheaper fuel prices in neighbouring countries spur smuggling of petrol, diesel into India

NEW DELHI: Petrol and diesel in India are not just costlier than in the neighbouring countries Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan, but their prices have been on the rise in the country, posing hardships to the common people and there's no respite in sight. In India, people are paying up to Rs. 87 for one litre of petrol across the country. Whereas in Sri Lanka it is Rs 50.67 per litre and Rs 66.99 per litre in landlocked Nepal. Similarly, it's selling at Rs. 56.63 per litre in Bhutan, Rs. 43.82 per litre in Myanmar, Rs. 49.67 per litre in Sri Lanka and Rs. 68.47 per litre in Bangladesh. This steep difference in the pricing of petrol and diesel in India and neighbouring countries has led to smuggling of petroleum products into India. Recently it was reported that people from border areas of Assam smuggle petrol and diesel from Bhutan, because it's cheaper there. And with this, they earn up to Rs. 20 per litre. Same is the case with people living in the border areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who are getting their vehicle tanks and containers filled with petrol and diesel from Nepal because of their lower prices. People cross the border via authorised routes and line up in hundreds at pumps in Nepals to buy petrol and diesel at cheaper rates. Petrol and diesel are being sold in water bottles on the Nepal border. For some, this has become a way of earning easy money and for others, it saves them bucks. "There's a difference of Rs. 15 in the price of Petrol in Indian and Nepal. If we fill our motorcycle's tank by 10 litres of fuel, we save Rs. 150," a man who went to Nepal for cheaper fuel told ABP News. The surge in the smuggling of petroleum products has also posed a serious challenge to the Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB), which is guarding the Indo-Nepal border. Also, this phenomenon is affecting fuel outlets on the Indian side, which are witnessing a sharp slump in the sale of diesel and petrol owing to the price difference and smuggling. "Our sales have gone down drastically because cheaper fuel is being smuggled into India from Nepal. No one is coming to us," a petrol pump owner told ABP News. Another pump owner said he has lost about 75 per cent of his customers. The central government levies excise duty and cess on petrol and on diesel. States impose sales tax or VAT, which varies from state to state. And then comes the dealers' commission. The Narendra Modi government has in last four years earned 3,10,000 crore by hiking excise duty nine times in its tenure. Also, the profit of Indian Oil Commission which stood at Rs. 3,721 crore last year has in 2018 shot up to 5,218 crore. Petrol price has been hiked by Rs 3.64 a litre and diesel by Rs 3.24 in Delhi since state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to resume daily price revision on May 14. The prices are at an all-time high.