Govt to get Rs 23,944 crore from clean environment cess in FY16-17

Government is expected to get an estimated Rs 23,944.40 crore from clean environment cess in the FY 16-17, which was earlier known as clean energy cess. The purpose of clean energy/environment tax was for financing and promoting clean energy initiatives, funding research in the area of clean energy or for any other purpose relating thereto.

Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Coal India (CIL) will collect clean environment cess from the customers and then deposit it with the government of India for the year 2016-17, hence, levying of the tax will have no impact either on the revenue or the cost of production of coal by CIL. At present the rate of Clean Environment cess is Rs 400 per tone and the estimated amount of clean environment cess to be collected by CIL and deposited with the government of India for the year 2016-17 based on the budgeted estimated production of CIL is Rs 23,944.40 crore.

State-owned CIL has urged the government to levy an environmental tax on pet coke, which it termed as more polluting than coal.CIL has also recommended to the Coal Ministry that environmental tax should be imposed on pet coke as it emits large amount of sulphur dioxide in the environment. Pet coke is more polluted than coal.

Meanwhile, the minister has said that various measures were been taken by CIL to bring down the cost of production of coal that included benchmarking of power and diesel consumption, e-reverse auction for finalisation of contracts for explosives implemented and converting unsafe, inviable underground mines to opencast mines.