New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the Central government earned nearly Rs 8.02 lakh crore from taxes on petrol and diesel during the last three financial years.
Sitharaman added that more than Rs 3.71 lakh crore of the nearly Rs 8.02 lakh crore from taxes on petrol and diesel was collected in fiscal year 2020-21 alone.
“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,” she said, PTI reported.
Responding to queries on the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel during the last three years and the details of the revenue earned through various taxes on these fuels, Sitharaman said the excise duty on petrol rose from Rs 19.48 per litre as on October 5, 2018, to Rs 27.90 per litre as on November 4, 2021.
The Finance Minister, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha earlier on Tuesday, added that the duty on diesel rose from Rs 15.33 per litre to Rs 21.80 during the same 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, within this period. The excise on diesel, during the same reference period, reduced from Rs 15.33 to Rs 13.83.
The excise duties on petrol and diesel were on the rise till February 2, 2021, to Rs 32.98 and Rs 31.83 respectively. The prices of petrol and diesel then declined further to Rs 27.90 per litre and Rs 21.80 per litre respectively as on November 4, 2021.
The Central government had earlier on November 4 slashed the excise duties on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 per litre respectively.
Several states announced a cut in the value added tax (VAT) on the two fuels following the ruling dispensation’s decision made before Diwali this year.