New Delhi: Facing a crisis created by rising fuel prices, the government is likely to come out with "some steps" this week to deal with record high petrol and diesel rates, a senior official said on Tuesday.
The government may not rely only on cutting excise duty, which makes up for a fourth of the retail selling price, the official said but did not elaborate.
"Rising fuel price is a crisis for the government, and it has to be handled with a combination of steps. Finance ministry is consulting the petroleum ministry on rising crude prices," he said.
More than a week after the state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus on revising fuel prices, petrol and diesel rates have touched record highs. Petrol costs Rs 76.87 per litre in Delhi and diesel costs Rs 68.08 a litre. In last nine days, petrol price has risen by Rs 2.24 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.15.
Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. The prices in Delhi are the cheapest among all metros and most state capitals.
Refusing to discuss steps under consideration, the official said the government has to be mindful of its fiscal maths while dealing with the option of cutting excise duty.
On Wednesday, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will meet officials of the oil companies on the matter.