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 city of Andhra Pradesh – costs ₹109.74, while the same in Andaman & Nicobar Islands comes for ₹82.46, according to a written reply by Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi in response to a question on disparities in fuel prices.
“The final selling prices of petrol and diesel include excise duty fixed by the Central Government and Value Added Tax (VAT)/Taxes fixed by the respective State/UT Governments,” he said, adding that the rates vary across the country due to different freight rates and VAT/local levies, which vary from state to state.
NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh charges the highest VAT of ₹29.06 per litre on petrol, while the same in Andaman & Nicobar Islands is just ₹0.82 per litre.
The VAT is levied on top of ₹21.90 a litre charged by the central government as excise duty.
Similarly, diesel in Andhra Pradesh is priced at ₹97.57 per litre after accounting for ₹21.56 a litre VAT. The rate for the fuel in Andaman & Nicobar Islands is ₹78.05 per litre, as the VAT is the least (₹0.77 per litre).
Keeping Andhra Pradesh company is Left Democratic Front-ruled Kerala, where petrol is at ₹107.48 per litre. Congress-ruled Telangana ranks close behind, with petrol priced at ₹107.46 per litre.
Petrol prices are also high in several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal at ₹106.52 per litre, Patna at ₹105.23 (where the BJP governs in coalition with JD(U)), Jaipur in Rajasthan at ₹104.72, and Mumbai at ₹103.54 per litre. In Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal, petrol costs ₹105.41 per litre in Kolkata.
Among the metros, Delhi always had the cheapest fuel as it levied lower taxes. Petrol is priced at ₹94.77 a litre as it levies ₹15.40 per litre VAT.
Other states where petrol prices exceed ₹100 per litre include Odisha (₹101.11 per litre in Bhubaneswar), Karnataka (₹102.92 in Bengaluru), Tamil Nadu (₹100.80 in Chennai) and Jammu & Kashmir (₹100.71 in Srinagar), according to the reply.
In contrast, petrol is cheaper in Daman at ₹92.44 per litre. Smaller states and UTs with lower VAT rates also record cheaper petrol prices, including Panaji (₹96.43) and Chandigarh (₹94.30).
Diesel prices show a similar trend. Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh sells diesel at ₹97.57 per litre, followed by Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala at ₹96.48, Hyderabad at ₹95.70 and Raipur at ₹93.39 per litre.
Diesel prices are in the ₹91-93 per litre range in BJP-ruled Bihar and Odisha. The fuel is cheapest in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands at ₹78.05 per litre. Delhi, which has the lowest VAT among metro cities, sells diesel at ₹87.67 per litre, while Goa’s price stands at ₹87.81 per litre.
Gopi said the Central excise duty was reduced by the central government by a total of ₹13 per litre and ₹16 per litre on petrol and diesel, respectively, in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022, which was fully passed on to consumers.
This rolled back a similar measure of excise duty increase during the COVID-19 wave.
In March 2024, oil marketing companies reduced the retail prices of petrol and diesel by ₹2 per litre each. “In April 2025, excise duty on petrol and diesel was increased by ₹2 per litre each, but this was not passed on to consumers,” he said.>
