Fuel price hike in Nagaland: IOC doesn’t fix petrol and diesel prices, says source

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 21 (EMN): Days after the Finance department of Nagaland pointed fingers at IOC Ltd. for high fuel price in the state, citing high base value, a reliable source from IOC Ltd. in Dimapur has said that the pricing of petrol and diesel is decided on industry basis under the directive of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), and ‘not in the Northeast region’.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, the source said: “The retail selling price (RSP) of petrol and diesel is same for all the oil marketing companies in Nagaland like IOCL, BPCL and HPCL while it may be slightly higher for private companies like Nayara and Reliance.”

The source added that IOC is not the company that fixes the prices of petrol and diesel.

The Finance department had clarified through a statement on November 17 after the state government’s announcement to hike fuel tax triggered a controversy, stating that the IOC Ltd. had been asked to explain the reasons for the higher base value of petrol and diesel as compared to neighbouring states. 

[Also read: Nagaland Finance department clarifies fuel tax hike]

It had stated that Nagaland was not the only state to raise the price of petroleum products in the midst of the pandemic. It had also pointed out that despite the hike, the rate of tax was still considerably lower than that of Assam and Manipur.

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