LPG prices rise by Rs. Over 410, not even kerosene left

New delhi date. 9 March 2021, Tuesday

In the Lok Sabha on Monday, Dharmendra Pradhan was asked about petroleum prices. In reply, Dharmendra Pradhan admitted that cooking gas prices have doubled in the last seven years. Similarly, a liter of kerosene was priced at Rs 14.96 in 2014. In 2021, the price has gone up to Rs 35.35.

The government has made a lot of money from petrol and diesel. This was also acknowledged by the Petroleum Minister. According to the minister, the government had collected tax collection of Rs 52,537 crore from petrol and diesel in 2013.

In the year 2019-20, tax collection increased to Rs 2.13 lakh crore. In the last 11 months, the government's tax collection from petrol and diesel has reached Rs 2.94 lakh crore. One month will be added to it, so it will not be a surprise if the figure crosses three lakh crore.

At present, the government levies a tax of Rs 32.90 per liter on petrol and Rs 31.80 per liter on diesel. In 2018, the government charged Rs 17.98 per liter for petrol and Rs 13.83 per liter for diesel. That tax has doubled in just two-and-a-half years.

According to Dharmendra Pradhan's written acknowledgment, the government earned Rs 2.37 lakh crore from petroleum products in 2016-17. From April 2020 to January 2021 alone, the government collected Rs 3.01 lakh crore in taxes on petroleum products. In the last 15 months, the tax on a liter of petrol has gone up by Rs 11.77.

Diesel prices rose by Rs 13.47 per liter. According to Dharmendra Pradhan, the government had reduced the excise duty by Rs 2 in October 2017, but also increased it by Rs 2 in July 2019. In March 2020, the government increased the excise duty by Rs 3 per liter.

In May, the government again increased the excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per liter and on diesel by Rs 13 per liter. International crude prices hit historic lows during the lockdown. Therefore, the government had drastically increased the excise duty on petrol-diesel so that the people would not have to benefit from the reduction in crude.