Excise duty hiked on Petrol & High Speed Diesel…once again
THE crude oil price has slumped to about USD 46 per barrel - a six year low.
The Central government has, therefore, hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.2 per litre each to eat into the gains that could have possibly come by way of reduced global oil prices.
All these hikes are supposed to fetch the government an additional Rs.20,000 crore this fiscal and wipe a bit of the deficit.
This is the months' second hike and the fourth since the duty rates started increasing from 12.11.2014.
Analysts say that the oil glut would continue as the members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have decided not to cut production and this could have a profound effect on the global economy.
The changes in the duty rates have been effected by once again amending Notification 12/2012-CE.
Considering that the notification is being amended on a fortnightly basis due to the plunging crude oil prices, and which would continue its free fall for some more time, the CBEC may toy with the idea of coming out with a separate notification for Petrol & diesel rather than poking the gargantuan notification 12/2012-CE again and again.
The relevant entries are as below -
Table
Sl. No. | Chapter or heading or sub-heading or tariff item of the First Schedule | Description of excisable goods | Rate w.e.f 02.01.2015 | Rate w.e.f 17.01.2015 |
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | |
70 | 2710 | Motor spirit commonly known as petrol,- (i) intended for sale without a brand name; (ii) other than those specified at (i) | Rs.6.95 per litre Rs.8.10 per litre | Rs.8.95 per litre Rs.10.10 per litre |
71 | 2710 19 30 | High speed diesel (HSD),- (i) intended for sale without a brand name; (ii) other than those specified at (i) | Rs.5.96 per litre Rs.8.25 per litre | Rs.7.96 per litre Rs.10.25 per litre |
Notification dated January 16, 2015