Excise duty cut on fuels unlikely

New Delhi The government expects vegetable prices to start cooling off from next month with the advent of new crops in the market, but rising crude oil prices is a concern even though it is still within the tolerable zone of $90 a barrel, a finance ministry official said.

The official further said that reduction in excise duty is not on cards as the government is driving infrastructure investment, and private sector capital investment is yet to gather steam. He further said that the Centre’s capital expenditure, which was 28 per cent of Budget estimates at the end of June quarter, will reach 50 per cent by September end. In the 2023-24 budget, the government had hiked capital investment outlay by 33 per cent to Rs10 lakh crore in the current fiscal.

“Rising crude oil price is a concern but they are still within a tolerable zone from the point of view of oil marketing companies. It doesn’t necessitate any policy adjustment right now. The budget calculations are on track. I think we are quite ok with oil, up to $90 we shouldn’t be worried,” he said.