Government Earned Rs 8 Lakh Crore From Taxes On Fuels In Last 3 Years

Government earned around Rs 8 lakh crore from taxes levied on petrol and diesel in the last three financial years, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Out of the total amount, more than Rs 3.71 lakh crore was collected in 2020-21 itself, she informed in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

The excise duty on petrol rose from Rs 19.48 per litre as on October 5, 2018 to Rs 27.90 a litre as on November 4, 2021. The duty on diesel rose from Rs 15.33 a litre to Rs 21.80 during the same period, Ms Sitharaman said while giving details on excise duty hike on fuel prices.

Within this period, the excise on petrol fell from Rs 19.48 per litre as of October 5, 2018 to Rs 17.98 as of July 6, 2019; while excise on diesel reduced from Rs 15.33 to Rs 13.83 during the same reference period.

The excise duties on petrol and diesel were on a rising trajectory till February 2, 2021, to Rs 32.98 and Rs 31.83 respectively, before falling a tad and then declining further to Rs 27.90 a litre (petrol) and Rs 21.80 (diesel) as on November 4, 2021.

"The central excise duties, including cesses collected from petrol and diesel, during the last three years are: Rs 2,10,282 crore in 2018-19; Rs 2,19,750 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 3,71,908 crore in 2020-21," the finance minister said.

Just before Diwali this year on November 4, the government slashed the excise duties on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 a litre, respectively.

This was followed by several states announcing a cut in the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.