Today's Petrol Price/Rate in Kolkata

The price will be displayed high at the fuel stations in Kolkata and is also available on the respective websites of oil companies. The companies also have a dedicated mobile app, through which customers can fetch the daily revised petrol price in Kolkata.

Making the information available online helps customers to compare and go for the one offering petrol at lesser prices. However, the difference of price from one pump to the other would be marginal.

Factors Affecting Petrol Rate in Kolkata

Petrol pricing in India is made up of many components other than the product price. Petrol is usually bought in crude form from the international markets in barrels for US dollars. So the basic price of petrol mostly depends on the crude oil price and the Indian rupee to US dollar exchange rate.

After purchasing the crude oil, the oil marketing companies (OMCs) get it processed in the refineries to produce petroleum products. After adding the refinery price, cost of freight, and a profit margin, they sell the petrol to the dealers in various cities. The dealer then adds his commission, state and central taxes and other charges and finally sells it to the customers.

Most of the components in petrol pricing remain the same across all Indian cities, except for the value added tax (VAT) levied by the respective state government.

In Kolkata, VAT levied by the West Bengal government is what makes a major difference in the petrol price in the city.

Other factors that show the marginal effect on the petrol rate in Kolkata include the dealer's commission, the fuel supplying company and the pump maintenance charges.

State Taxes and Petrol Price in Kolkata

The West Bengal government charges value added tax (VAT) of 25% or Rs.13.12 per litre whichever is higher as sales tax on petrol, second highest among among the East Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar. The highest is being charged by the Jharkhand government with the lowest VAT on petrol observed at Bihar in East India.

Effect of GST on Kolkata Petrol Price

The GST or the goods and services tax being levied on most of the goods and services in India came in to effect in July 2017. Post GST, the uniform rate is observed on various products across India. However, petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, jet fuel and natural gas are kept outside GST net, as of now.

Therefore, the petrol prices in Kolkata or in any other Indian city are largely unaffected by GST.

Considering the recent uproar about bringing petroleum products under GST, if petrol is taxed under GST, the petrol rate in Kolkata is likely to come down as the highest tax bracket under GST is 28% which is lesser than the combined VAT and central excise duty of Rs. 19.48 per litre of petrol.

Petrol versus Diesel Rate in Kolkata

Just like in other cities in India, petrol costs little higher than diesel in Kolkata. The price variation is majorly due to the difference in the state and central taxes levied on the two commodities. Other factors include the difference in international crude oil price, refinery charges, the price charged to the dealers and dealer's commission.

The central excise duty and the VAT levied by the central and state governments respectively is different for petrol and diesel.

The excise duty on petrol is Rs.17.98 per litre, while it is Rs.13.83 on a litre of diesel. Similarly, the VAT charged by the West Bengal government on petrol is 25% or Rs.13.12 per litre, whichever is higher, as sales tax, whereas for diesel, it is 17% or Rs.7.70 per litre, whichever is higher.

Lesser tax rates on diesel compared to that of petrol are making diesel cheaper by Rs. 11-12 per litre than petrol in Kolkata.

Petrol Rate in Kolkata

The capital city of Indian state of West Bengal, Kolkata is one of the metropolitan cities in India. It is the main commercial and financial hub of North-East and East India.

With a population of more than 14 million people, the city is a third populous metropolitan city in India. The city has less number of private vehicles on road compared to other metros as most of the city's population relies on public transport such as Kolkata Suburban Railway, Kolkata Metro, buses, and trams.

Petrol price in Kolkata is the third highest among the five other metro cities in India.

Just like in other cities, most of the petrol pumps in Kolkata are owned by the state-owned oil companies including Bharat Petroleum (BP), Hindustan Petroleum (HP), and Indian Oil (IOCL). Shell, Reliance, Essar are the private players.

Indian Oil operates more than 40 petrol pumps in Kolkata, BP has more than 70, and HP operates more than 50 fuel stations in the city.

Petrol Price in Kolkata Compared to Other Metro Cities

Compared to other India metro cities, the petrol price in Kolkata is the third highest followed by other metros including Chennai, Bengaluru and Delhi. Just like in other metro cities, the prices of petrol in Kolkata align to the global crude oil prices.

The difference in petrol prices between Kolkata and other major metro cities is due to the varying local sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT) levied on the sale of fuel in the city.

How Often are Petrol Prices Revised in Kolkata?

Petrol prices in Kolkata, similar to other cities, are being revised on a daily basis ever since the dynamic fuel pricing has been introduced in June 2017.

Dealers of the petrol pumps across the city will update the petrol price every day by 6 a.m. as decided by the oil marketing companies.

The price will be displayed high at the fuel stations in Kolkata and is also available on the respective websites of oil companies. The companies also have a dedicated mobile app, through which customers can fetch the daily revised petrol price in Kolkata.

Making the information available online helps customers to compare and go for the one offering petrol at lesser prices. However, the difference of price from one pump to the other would be marginal.

Factors Affecting Petrol Rate in Kolkata

Petrol pricing in India is made up of many components other than the product price. Petrol is usually bought in crude form from the international markets in barrels for US dollars. So the basic price of petrol mostly depends on the crude oil price and the Indian rupee to US dollar exchange rate.

After purchasing the crude oil, the oil marketing companies (OMCs) get it processed in the refineries to produce petroleum products. After adding the refinery price, cost of freight, and a profit margin, they sell the petrol to the dealers in various cities. The dealer then adds his commission, state and central taxes and other charges and finally sells it to the customers.

Most of the components in petrol pricing remain the same across all Indian cities, except for the value added tax (VAT) levied by the respective state government.

In Kolkata, VAT levied by the West Bengal government is what makes a major difference in the petrol price in the city.

Other factors that show the marginal effect on the petrol rate in Kolkata include the dealer's commission, the fuel supplying company and the pump maintenance charges.

State Taxes and Petrol Price in Kolkata

The West Bengal government charges value added tax (VAT) of 25% or Rs.13.12 per litre whichever is higher as sales tax on petrol, second highest among among the East Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar. The highest is being charged by the Jharkhand government with the lowest VAT on petrol observed at Bihar in East India.

Effect of GST on Kolkata Petrol Price

The GST or the goods and services tax being levied on most of the goods and services in India came in to effect in July 2017. Post GST, the uniform rate is observed on various products across India. However, petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, jet fuel and natural gas are kept outside GST net, as of now.

Therefore, the petrol prices in Kolkata or in any other Indian city are largely unaffected by GST.

Considering the recent uproar about bringing petroleum products under GST, if petrol is taxed under GST, the petrol rate in Kolkata is likely to come down as the highest tax bracket under GST is 28% which is lesser than the combined VAT and central excise duty of Rs. 19.48 per litre of petrol.

Petrol versus Diesel Rate in Kolkata

Just like in other cities in India, petrol costs little higher than diesel in Kolkata. The price variation is majorly due to the difference in the state and central taxes levied on the two commodities. Other factors include the difference in international crude oil price, refinery charges, the price charged to the dealers and dealer's commission.

The central excise duty and the VAT levied by the central and state governments respectively is different for petrol and diesel.

The excise duty on petrol is Rs.17.98 per litre, while it is Rs.13.83 on a litre of diesel. Similarly, the VAT charged by the West Bengal government on petrol is 25% or Rs.13.12 per litre, whichever is higher, as sales tax, whereas for diesel, it is 17% or Rs.7.70 per litre, whichever is higher.

Lesser tax rates on diesel compared to that of petrol are making diesel cheaper by Rs. 11-12 per litre than petrol in Kolkata.

*Disclaimer: BankBazaar makes no guarantee or warranty on the accuracy of the data provided on this page, the prevailing prices are susceptible to change and provided on an as-is basis. We accept no liability for any loss arising from the use of the data contained on this website.