New Delhi: Diesel prices hit an all-time high of Rs 64.58 per litre in the national capital on Sunday, while petrol prices zoomed to a four-year high of Rs 73.73 per litre as state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) passed on the increase in the global prices to domestic consumers as part of the daily rate revision mechanism.The uptrend in the retail fuel market is likely to put pressure on the government to prune taxes, which account for nearly half the price of petrol and diesel.As reported by The Wire in September last year, India’s petrol and diesel prices are among Southeast Asia’s highest.Of late, investors have increased their wagers on crude oil rally, ignoring the risk of US shale production causing oversupply in the market. That does not bode well for countries like India, which heavily depend on imports to meet their crude oil requirements.Finance minister Arun Jaitley had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell. It cut tax Rs 2 a litre last October to defuse inflationary pressure.Later in January, ahead of the presentation of the Union budget 2018-19, the petroleum ministry had sought a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion consumers from the impact of rising fuel prices in the global market. But struggling to balance his fiscal arithmetic, Jaitley ignored the call.After slashing excise duty last October, the Centre had asked states to also lower VAT, but only Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh acted on its call.Global oil prices crashed in June 2014. The Modi government took advantage of the low oil prices to jack up excise duty on petrol and diesel and fills coffers, which in turn helped it contain the fiscal deficit.Excise duty on petrol and diesel went up by Rs 11.77 and Rs 13.47 a litre respectively. As a result, the government’s excise mop up more than doubled to Rs 242,000 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 99,000 crore in 2014-15.