How much of a litre of petrol is tax in Pakistan and in India?

On 1 August 2026, tax was 30.68% of Pakistan’s petrol price and 27.90% of Delhi’s. Each is a share of its own price.

Most comparisons put both prices in one currency. That brings in an exchange rate, which says nothing about tax.

So I compare shares, not rupees. No currency is converted anywhere in this note.

Pakistan’s figures come from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). Its daily sheet builds the petrol price line by line.

India’s come from Indian Oil’s Delhi build-up and from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), part of India’s petroleum ministry.

How much of a litre is tax on each side?

On 1 August 2026, 4 lines of OGRA’s sheet went to the Government. Together they were Rs 103.11 of a Rs 336.03 litre.

How much of Pakistan’s petrol price is tax? explains each of these 4 lines. The build-up shows the latest figures.

Delhi’s sheet for the same date prints a retail price of ₹102.12. 2 governments take a part of it.

India’s central government takes excise duty, ₹11.90 a litre. Delhi’s government takes VAT, ₹16.59 a litre.

So excise was 11.65% of Delhi’s price and VAT was 16.25%. Together they were 27.90%, against Pakistan’s 30.68%.

Where do Delhi’s figures come from?

PPAC’s own build-up page sends readers to the oil companies’ sheets. I used Indian Oil’s sheet for petrol at Delhi.

It is headed “effective 01-Aug-26”. On 13 October, Indian Oil’s price page still linked to it.

The sheet has only these 4 lines. It does not print excise duty, which sits inside the price charged to dealers.

So the excise figure comes from PPAC’s tariff table, posted on 27 March 2026 and still on its page on 13 October.

The VAT line can be checked. PPAC lists Delhi’s VAT on petrol at 19.40%, and 19.40% of ₹85.53 is ₹16.59.

₹85.53 is the price charged to dealers plus the dealer’s commission. So Delhi’s VAT is charged on the commission too, as the sheet says.

What did I count as tax?

On both sides, I counted every charge that a government sets and collects. Costs and margins paid to companies are not counted.

For Pakistan, that is the 4 lines in this site’s Government group. Customs duty is one of them.

For Delhi, it is central excise, including its 2 cesses, and Delhi’s VAT. The sheet prints no other tax line.

Which lines do not match cleanly?

4 differences matter. None of them changes a printed figure, but each limits what the comparison means.

Customs duty: Pakistan’s sheet prints it, Rs 18.11 on 1 August, charged on imported cargoes. Indian Oil’s sheet prints no customs line.

PPAC’s table lists a 2.50% basic customs duty on petrol. The sheet does not show if any is inside Delhi’s price, so I count none.

Excise on unblended petrol: PPAC’s table adds ₹2 a litre on petrol not blended with ethanol.

Indian Oil’s sheet does not say which kind it prices, so I leave the ₹2 out.

How each tax is set: Pakistan’s 2 levies and India’s excise are fixed amounts a litre. Pakistan’s customs and Delhi’s VAT move with the price.

Pakistan’s sheet also prints sales tax, at Rs 0.00. The sheet says petrol is exempt for now.

The price itself: OGRA’s total leaves out “secondary freight”, the cost of moving fuel from depot to pump. Delhi’s is the rounded retail price.

Why Delhi, and not all of India?

Indian Oil publishes its build-up for Delhi. Other cities pay the same excise, but a different VAT, set by each state.

PPAC’s VAT table shows the spread. Delhi charges 19.40% on petrol; Andhra Pradesh charges 31%, plus ₹4 a litre and a ₹1 road cess.

So city prices differ. On 13 October, PPAC printed ₹102.12 in Delhi, ₹107.77 in Chennai, ₹111.21 in Mumbai and ₹113.51 in Kolkata.

Pakistan is different. OGRA sets 1 price for the whole country, so its share is the same nationwide.

So this note compares Delhi with Pakistan. It does not speak for India as a whole.

How much does the pump dealer get?

Both sheets print the dealer’s cut, so it can be compared the same way. It is a much smaller part of the litre than tax.

Pakistan’s dealer margin is fixed by the Government. Indian Oil’s figure is an average, and Delhi’s VAT is charged on it.

What changed by 13 October?

OGRA publishes a new sheet every working day. On 13 October 2026, the Government took Rs 109.93 of a Rs 395.37 litre.

That is 27.80%, down from 30.68% on 1 August. The 2 levies stayed at Rs 85, while the price rose by Rs 59.34.

A fixed levy is a smaller share of a higher price. Did the petroleum levy raise the petrol price? looks at this.

The dealer’s share was 2.52% on 13 October, from a margin of Rs 9.98.

Delhi’s price did not move. PPAC printed ₹102.12 for every day from 25 May to 13 October 2026.

Indian Oil had not published a newer sheet by 13 October. So Delhi’s latest printed split is still the 1 August one.

What does this comparison not show?

It does not show which country’s petrol is cheaper. That needs an exchange rate, and I use none.

In July 2026, Pakistan’s petroleum minister called its petrol prices “broadly comparable” to India’s, citing a KPMG study, ProPakistani reported.

That claim is about prices, not tax shares. This note does not test it.

What makes up the petrol price in Pakistan? covers the rest of the litre. Does the dollar rate raise the petrol price? covers the rupee.