Ruling out the possibility of a hike in fuel prices after the imposition of Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess in the Budget presented on Monday, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Modi government's budget will take the country forward.
He said, "There will be no increase in petrol and diesel prices. There will be no additional burden on people. The cess has been imposed to re-constitute the taxes. The government has reduced excise, and has started new agricultural cess."
Also read: Budget 2021: Agri infra cess of Rs 2.5 per litre imposed on petrol; no impact on consumer
The government has imposed Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel but has lessened it with a proportionate reduction in excise duty on both fuels to not burden customers.
WHAT IS AIDC
The AIDC is a new cess introduced by the government in the Union Budget 2021 -22 which was presented on Monday, which pursues to increase resources for development in agriculture infrastructure in India.
"To earmark resources for this purpose, I propose an Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on a small number of items. However, while applying this cess, we have taken care not to put additional burden on consumers on most items,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech.
To make up for the cess, basic excise duty on petrol has been reviewed to Rs 1.4 per litre from Rs 2.98 per litre while on diesel from Rs 4.83 per litre to Rs 1.8 per litre. Additional, special excise duty has been brought down by Rs 1 per litre each on both fuels to Rs 11 per litre on petrol and Rs 8 per litre on diesel.
Meanwhile, Rs 5.71 crore will be invested in infrastructure, including roads, electricity, water, ports, railways, roads, runways and gas pipeline which is a huge success. The budget aims to provide justice to the farmers, general public and introduce reforms in all the sectors including law, Javadekar added.
(With inputs from IANS)