Centre admits to earning Rs 33 per litre from petrol, Rs 32 from diesel; says no plan to bring fuel under GST

The central government on Monday informed Parliament that it earns almost Rs 33 from the sale of every litre of petrol and Rs 32 from per litre of diesel.

Even as the petrol and diesel prices continued to stay at the all-time high for the 16th straight day on Monday, the Centre told Parliament that it earns a huge amount of revenue from fuel via excise duty, cess and surcharge. The central government admitted that, since May 6, 2020, it has been earning Rs 33 per litre of petrol and Rs 32 on a litre of diesel in form of central excise duty, including basic excise duty, cess and surcharge. In comparison, between March and May 5, 2020, the central government’s per litre earning on petrol and diesel was almost Rs 23 and Rs 19, respectively on one litre of diesel (SEE TABLE).