In a televised address, he said: “The government has decided to maintain the price of high speed diesel (HSD) […] there will be no change. As for petrol, there will be no change and it will remain unchanged from Dec 1 to 15.”

The minister said that the price of kerosene oil, which was used by lower income groups in villages, would be slashed by Rs10.

“As light diesel oil (LDO), […] has also been decided to reduce the price by Rs7.5 per litre.”

The minister said that the deadline for filing tax returns, which was today, had been extended by 15 days to Dec 15. He urged the nation to take advantage of this opportunity and file their tax returns at the earliest.