Centre earned more than Rs 8 lakh cr in fuel taxes in last 3 fiscals: Sitharaman

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The Centre earned nearly Rs 8.02 lakh crore from taxes on petrol and diesel during the last three fiscal years, of which more than Rs 3.71 lakh crore was collected in FY21 alone, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday.

The minister was responding to queries on the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel during last three years and the details of the revenue earned through various taxes on these fuels.

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, Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

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,” Sitharaman 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 the two fuels.