FARM PETRO CESS

THE GOVERNMENT on Monday imposed agriculture and infrastructure development cess at the rate of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel to mobilise additional resources. However, to prevent the additional cess from impacting the retail price of the two petroleum products, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that rates of basic excise duty and special additional excise duty on petrol and diesel are being reduced from the existing levels. That would keep oil marketing companies away from raising the retail price of petrol and diesel based on the new imposition.