On May 5, the government raised the excise duty by a record Rs 10 per litre on petrol & Rs 13 per litre on diesel. Decision taken to garner Rs 1.6 lakh crore additional revenue. The government repeated its time-tested formula of not passing on gains arising from a fall in global oil prices. What comes as a relief for the common man is that retail prices of petrol & diesel will not be impacted by the tax changes. Reportedly, state-owned oil firms will adjust them against the recent dip in oil prices. As per a notification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, special additional excise duty on petrol has been hiked by Rs 2 per litre & road cess by Rs 8 a litre. As far as diesel is concerned, special additional excise duty has been hiked by Rs 5 per litre & road cess by Rs 8 a litre. Therefore, in all, excise duty on petrol has risen to Rs 32.98 per litre & on diesel to Rs 31.83. Reportedly, the Centre has taken this step to raise some revenue as the nation deals with coronavirus crises.