Flagship artefact · barrel to pump

How a litre of petrol gets priced in India.

You pay one number at the petrol pump. That number starts with crude and ends as five separately-negotiated, separately-regulated components. Tap each layer to unfold what it is, who sets it, when it moves, and why Indian retail can stay calm while crude is not.

Crude enters

Import cost, FX, freight, and refining economics set the base pressure.

Tax stack forms

Central excise is rupees per litre; state VAT is percentage-based.

Retail is smoothed

OMCs absorb or recover the gap when politics overrides formula.

Delhi petrol, latest RSP

₹ 94.77/ L

2026-04-27

01 / 05Component · upstream

Refinery transfer price

₹ 64.33 / L · 67.9% of retail

02 / 05Component · dealer

Dealer commission

₹ 3.14 / L · 3.3% of retail

03 / 05Component · central

Central excise

₹ 11.90 / L · 12.6% of retail

04 / 05Component · state

State VAT

₹ 15.40 / L · 16.2% of retail

05 / 05Component · state

Other state cess + dealer margin

₹ 0.00 / L · 0.0% of retail

The single biggest idea. Because excise is per-litre and VAT is per-cent, the mix shifts as crude moves. At USD 120 crude, taxes are a smaller share of the retail rupee; at USD 60, they are a larger share. The state-tax auto-dampening plus discretionary central excise moves together explain why the pump price has been far more stable than crude since 2020.