Govt's excise collections on petrol, diesel jumps 88% to ₹3.35 lakh cr in FY21

Excise duty collection from petrol and diesel by the Indian government has increased by 88% to ₹3.35 lakh crore between April 2020 and March 2021. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli told Lok Sabha on Monday that this was up from ₹1.78 lakh crore registered in the FY20.

The excise duty on petrol was increased from ₹19.98 per litre to ₹32.9 in 2020. The excise duty on diesel was increased to ₹31.8 from ₹15.83 per litre last year. In FY2018-19, excise duty collections on petrol and diesel were ₹2.13 lakh crore.

This excise duty hike was reportedly done in an attempt to benefit from the gap between domestic fuel prices and international oil prices. The international crude prices plunged to a multi-year low as the Covid-19 pandemic affected the demand for fuel massively.

The excise duty collection would have been even higher but the nationwide lockdown last year and subsequent local travel restrictions in states across India impacted the figures.

According to the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, excise duty collections in April-June 2021 was ₹1.01 lakh crore. However, this number includes ATF, natural gas and crude oil as well, along with petrol and diesel.

The price of petrol and diesel comprises of various components. The majority of the pricing components are attributed to central and state government taxes. While the central government imposes excise duty, the state governments impose differing VAT amounts. Other pricing components include dealer commission, freight charges etc.

In the last several weeks, prices of petrol and diesel have increased incessantly. Per litre petrol price has crossed ₹100 mark in several states and in all major cities. Diesel too is selling at an all-time high rate across the country.

According to the government, petrol price has been increased 39 times in the current financial year, while diesel price was increased 36 times. Petrol price was cut once during this period, while diesel price was slashed two times.

In the last financial year, petrol price was increased on 76 occasions and reduced 10 times. Diesel on the other hand was increased 73 times and reduced 24 times. Meanwhile, the last price revision was announced on Saturday. The oil marketing companies refrained from revising prices of the motor fuels on Sunday and Monday.

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