The Union Budget for 2021-22, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (February 1) has imposed a 'farm cess', also known as the agri infra cess, on petrol and diesel. However, the fine print of the Budget 2021 shows that the fuel prices will remain unchanged and will not be more expensive, as some had initially feared.
A farm cess of Rs 2.5 per litre has been imposed on petrol, while it is Rs 4 on diesel.
"Consequent to imposition of Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on petrol and diesel, the Basic excise duty (BED) and Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) rates have been reduced on them so that overall consumer does not bear any additional burden. Consequently, unbranded petrol and diesel will attract basic excise duty of Rs 1.4, and Rs 1.8 per litre respectively. The SAED on unbranded petrol and diesel shall be Rs 11 and Rs 8 per litre respectively," said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her speech.
It is to be noted that petrol and diesel prices had already been skyrocketing over the past couple of months. Recently, the price of petrol crossed Rs 86 per litre, while in Mumbai the price has of petrol has touched nearly Rs 93 per litre.
However, the Union Budget 2021–22 was expected to provide relief to the pandemic-hit common man as well as focus more on driving economic recovery through higher spending on healthcare, infrastructure, and defence amid rising tensions with neighbours.
As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth Budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer, and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
Sitharaman who had, in her first Budget in 2019, replaced the leather briefcase that had been for decades used to carry budget documents with a traditional red cloth 'bahi-khata' stated earlier this month that the Budget for the fiscal year beginning April will be "like never before."
It has to be a vision statement, a road map to get the world's fastest-growing major economy back on track, she had said.
