Diesel Price/Rate in Kerala Today

Diesel consumers will not be impacted much by dynamic fuel pricing as the variations in diesel prices are not so high. In the earlier system, prices used to change in big margins. With the daily revision in practice, all state-owned oil marketing firms offer an SMS service, a customer care service and an online service for diesel consumers from Kerala to get the latest diesel prices.

How to Compute Diesel Price in Kerala

Like any other cities, the cost structure of diesel in Kerala consist five elements that include the cost of crude oil including freight charges, refinery transfer price, the profit margin of oil marketing companies (OMC), dealer commission, and the state and the central tax on diesel. 50% of retail selling price consist tax elements.

As we all know, India is a huge importer of crude oil. When oil marketing companies import crude oil from overseas oil companies, oil manufacturing companies remit the cost of crude oil in addition to freight charges. Refinery transfer price is the price charged by refineries to transform raw oil into diesel. It will be fixed. The possession of refined oil will be held by oil marketing companies till it is delivered to dealers for sale.

Oil marketing companies then add a certain percentage of profit on the cost of crude oil and the refinery transfer price. Diesel is taxed by the state government and the central government as well. With effect from 4 October 2017, the government of Kerala taxes diesel by 29.21%. The central excise duty imposed by the central government is applicable to all states of India.

Why do Diesel Costs fluctuate in Kerala?

The factors that affect diesel prices in Kerala can be clubbed into two categories. The first category includes domestic factors and the second category includes international factors. The tax components can be considered as domestic factors. The central government retains the right to decrease or increase the central excise duty. It was recently revised on 4 October 2017. After reducing the excise duty, the cost of diesel has come down by more than Rs.2 in Kerala.

Another tax component is the state VAT, which is administered by respective state governments. The cost of diesel will come down if the state government of Kerala reduces the VAT on diesel. It will go up if the local tax increases. The cost of crude oil and the currency conversion rate can be considered as international factors. Crude oil rates are impacted by a lot of factors including overseas political events, the economics of oil-producing countries, export and import procedures, the ratio of global reserves and supplies, and seasonal conditions.

The exchange rate fluctuates often. It is related to the cost of crude oil. If the base currency falls against the local currency, the cost of raw oil will be cheaper in Indian rupees. If the local currency falls against the base currency, the cost of crude oil will be increased proportionately. As a result, the performance of the exchange rate will direct affect diesel prices in Kerala and other Indian cities.

What is the Impact of GST on Diesel Price in Kerala?

The retail selling price (RSP) of all types of goods and services have slighted changed since the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the month of July 2017. But, diesel rates have remained unchanged in the state. GST is not applicable to five petroleum products including diesel. Many of us know that the highest GST rate fixed by the GST Council till date is 28%.

Even if diesel in Kerala is taxed at 28%, the current rate of diesel will fall by at least 20-30%. The implementation of GST will harm the revenue source of the central and state governments. Goods and Services Tax (GST) is not applicable to the entire oil and natural gas industry. All industrial players will not pay tax under the scheme of GST. If the industry is brought under the regime of GST, the compliance cost will be doubled as all participants have to follow the current tax regime and the GST slab.

Diesel Rates vs. Petrol Rate in Kerala

Diesel is priced less compared to petrol because it is a subsidised commodity. The net difference between the current rate of petrol and diesel in Kerala is reasonable like any other state. The prices of petrol and diesel offered by different oil brands will change a bit. They are expected to go up slightly over the next one or two months.