Petrol and diesel prices have gone through the roof ever since the central government announced daily revision of fuel prices. Petrol price in Delhi on Tuesday was at Rs 70.38 per litre, whereas in Mumbai a litre of petrol costs Rs 79.48.

The hike comes at a time when the price of international crude oil of Indian Basket is at $52.73 per barrel (bbl) as on September 11. The government had steadily increased excise duty on petrol and diesel when the global crude prices had plummeted below $30 a barrel.

On July 1, the prices of petrol and diesel in the national capital were Rs 63.09 and Rs 53.33 per litre respectively.

Excise duty on petrol was hiked by Rs 11.77 per litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government came to power in 2014.

The government had in November 2015 and January 2016 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel five times to take away gains arising from plummeting international oil prices. Excise duty on petrol was hiked by Rs 4.02 a litre and that on diesel by Rs 6.97.

Prior to that, the government had in four instalments raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel between November 2014 and January 2015 to take away gains arising from fall in international oil prices.

The four excise duty hikes during this period totalled Rs 7.75 per litre on petrol and Rs 6.50 a litre on diesel. It led to about Rs 20,000 crore in additional revenue to the government, helping it meet the fiscal deficit target.

The government has excluded petrol and diesel from the ambit of GST (Goods and Service Tax). Petroleum products still attract state and central levies such as excise duty and VAT(Value added tax).

Earlier this month, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ruled out cutting taxes on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact of rising international oil prices.

Asked if the government is considering cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel, he said, "Not yet. When situation arises, we will see."