Govt defers Rs 2/litre additional excise duty on petrol, diesel by a month

The government has put off by one month the levy of an additional Rs 2 per litre excise duty on petrol and diesel that is not doped with ethanol and bio-diesel in a bid to give the industry more time to implement the measure.

The finance ministry, in a Gazette notification issued late on Friday (September 30), stated that the additional excise tax will now be levied from November 1, 2022.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in her Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 2022 brought a Rs 2 per litre additional levy on petrol and diesel that is not blended with ethanol and bio-diesel, respectively. This duty was to be applicable from October 1, 2022, but now has been differed to November 1.

Presently, 10 per cent ethanol, extracted from sugarcane or surplus foodgrain, is blended or mixed in petrol (meaning 10 per cent of ethanol mixed with 90 per cent of petrol) with a view to cutting oil import dependence and providing farmers with an additional source of income.

But .