Opposition Leader urges Sri Lanka to ‘follow suit’ after India’s fuel duty cuts

Following India’s decision to cut special excise duties on petrol and diesel, Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader, Sajith Premadasa, has urged the government to do the same on fuel prices here and provide relief to the public.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Premadasa said the Narendra Modi-led government has decided to reduce the Special Additional Excise Duty on petrol and completely remove it for diesel in order to cushion the hardship on the Indian consumer.

He further stated it is “high time for AKD to keep up to his election promise and follow suit.”

India’s finance ministry reduced the special excise duty on petrol to 3 Indian rupees per litre from 13 rupees earlier, and cut the duty on diesel to zero from 10 rupees, as fuel prices remain volatile due to the conflict in Iran. The ministry did not disclose the cost of the duty cuts to the government.

India’s excise duty move comes amid disruptions in energy supplies globally due to the chokehold on key waterway Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of gas and oil requirements of the world move — as a result of the war in the Gulf region sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

However, the duty cuts are reportedly aimed at reducing oil companies’ losses on auto fuels, without directly lowering pump prices of petrol and diesel.