Union budget 2021: application of the agricultural development and infrastructure levy on gasoline and diesel
New Delhi:
A component to develop agricultural infrastructure was added to the cost of gasoline and diesel in the Union Budget presented today by the Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman. An agricultural development and infrastructure fee of Rs 2.5 per liter of gasoline and Rs 4 per liter of diesel has been added to the budget after months of turmoil in the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the loss of income and employment cuts across sectors.
There will be no pressure on consumers as other tariffs and layoffs were reviewed before the new agricultural infrastructure tax was calculated, Sitharaman said.
“As a consequence of the imposition of the Agricultural Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on gasoline and diesel, basic excise duties and additional special excise duties have been reduced so that the consumer in general does not bear any additional burden”, Sitharaman said.
“Consequently, petrol and unbranded diesel will generate a basic excise duty of Rs 1.4 and 1.8 per liter, respectively. The additional excise duty on petrol and unbranded diesel will be Rs 11 and 8 per liter. , respectively. Similar changes have also been made for branded gasoline and diesel, “said the finance minister.
Markets reacted positively to today’s Union Budget announcements, with Sensex up more than 2,000 points and Nifty topping 14,200.
Key announcements include the doubling of healthcare spending and the lifting of limits on foreigners investing in India’s vast insurance market to help revive an economy that suffered its deepest decline on record due to the pandemic.
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