Petrol, diesel costliest in Andhra, cheapest in Andaman & Nicobar
New Delhi: Petrol and diesel are costliest in Andhra Pradesh largely because of the highest VAT the state charges, while smaller states and Union Territories such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands have the lowest fuel prices, according to information furnished in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
A litre of petrol in Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, costs Rs 109.74, making it the costliest in the country, while the same fuel is priced at Rs 82.46 per litre in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the government told Parliament. The wide disparity is largely due to differences in state-level taxes, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said in a written reply.
Gopi explained that retail fuel prices comprise central excise duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) or local taxes levied by states and Union Territories, in addition to freight costs. Variations in VAT rates are the primary reason for differing fuel prices across regions.
Andhra Pradesh levies the highest VAT on petrol at Rs 29.06 per litre, compared with just Rs 0.82 per litre in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. This is in addition to the central excise duty of Rs 21.90 per litre. As a result, petrol prices in Andhra Pradesh remain significantly higher than in most other states.
A similar trend is seen in diesel prices. Diesel in Amaravati sells at Rs 97.57 per litre, including a VAT of Rs 21.56 per litre, while in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands it costs Rs 78.05 per litre, with VAT at only Rs 0.77 per litre.
Several other states also record high petrol prices. Kerala has petrol priced at Rs 107.48 per litre, closely followed by Telangana at Rs 107.46 per litre. High prices are also seen in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal, with petrol prices ranging between Rs 103 and Rs 106 per litre in major cities.
Among metropolitan cities, Delhi continues to have the cheapest fuel due to lower taxes, with petrol priced at Rs 94.77 per litre and VAT of Rs 15.40 per litre. Petrol prices exceed Rs 100 per litre in Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir, while smaller states and UTs such as Daman, Panaji and Chandigarh report relatively lower prices. Diesel prices broadly mirror this pattern, with Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana among the costliest, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi and Goa among the cheapest.
Gopi noted that the Centre had reduced excise duty by Rs 13 per litre on petrol and Rs 16 per litre on diesel in November 2021 and May 2022, benefits that were passed on to consumers. Oil marketing firms cut retail prices by Rs 2 per litre in March 2024. Although excise duty was raised by Rs 2 per litre in April 2025, this hike was not passed on to consumers.
