Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, replying to a query in the Rajya Sabha has informed that the government has raised additional revenue of Rs 20,250 crore on account of increases in the Basic Excise duty (BED) rates of petrol and diesel (branded as well as unbranded), which have been announced since November in 2014-15 Financial Year.
Notably, this is the first time the government has stated just how much it stands to gain from the excise duty hike. It has raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel four times since November, a move that prevented consumers from enjoying the full benefit of 60% fall in crude prices.
The government, in order to achieve the fiscal deficit target for this year, raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on November 12, December 2, January 2 and January 17 respectively.
With the hike, present effective BED on unbranded and branded diesel is Rs 7.96 per litre and 14% + Rs 5 per litre or Rs 10.25 per litre, whichever is lower respectively. Meanwhile, the central excise revenue (provisional) from petrol and diesel during the period from January 31, 2014, to January 31, 2015 stands at Rs 58,000 crore approximately.