Finance Ministry on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that there is no proposal to bring any change in the current central excise duty structure on petrol and diesel. Meanwhile, Petroleum Ministry has argued that petrol-diesel taxes to balance consumer interest against government spending bill.
The parliament saw multiple questions as well as disruptions in the proceedings due to spiralling fuel prices. Minister of State in the Finance Ministry Anurag Singh Thakur, in a written response, said that the total amount of central excise duty collected on petrol and diesel during the period January 2020 to January 2021 is over ₹3.40 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, in response to a starred question, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan defended present rate of taxes.
“The rate of taxes on petrol and diesel is calibrated so that the interest of consumers is protected and at the same time the requirement of fiscal resources for infrastructure and other development expenditure is also taken care of,” Pradhan said. He also refuted the claim that fuel taxes in India are the highest in the country.
“The taxes on petrol and other fuels imposed in various countries keep changing from time to time as per the policy of their respective governments,” Pradhan said while answering another question. “In some countries the percentage of taxes on petrol is higher than the current percentage of tax on petrol in India.”