Centre has received record collections through excise duty levy on petrol and diesel
The Centre has collected Rs 94,181 crore through excise duty levy on petrol and diesel during the first quarter period of 2021-22.
Excise duty on petrol was hiked from Rs 19.98 per litre to Rs 32.9 in 2020-21 in order to take advantage of falling international crude prices, which had dipped sharply during the previous fiscal due to the Coronavirus pandemic which had erupted during that year.
This information was provided to the Lok Sabha through a written reply by Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli to a slew of questions on rising petrol and diesel prices, which have crossed the Rs 100 mark in several states across the country.
Similarly the excise duty on diesel was also hiked to Rs 31.8 from Rs 15.83 a litre, according to the minister's reply.
This led to excise collections on petrol and diesel jumping to Rs 3.35 lakh crore in 2020-21 (April 2020 to March 2021), from Rs 1.78 lakh crore a year back, he said.
Collections would have been higher but for fuel sales falling due to lockdown and other restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which muted economic activity and stalled mobility, the minister further added in the reply.
