A day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that there will be no cut in excise duty on fuel as the previous UPA Government had reduced fuel prices by issuing Oil Bonds of Rs 1.44 lakh crore, the Congress on Tuesday hit back by saying that the Government since 2014-15 has spent Rs 73,440 crore on servicing oil bonds and collected Rs 22.34 lakh crore through taxes on petroleum products.
Addressing the AICC press conference, former Union Minister Ajay Maken said the official figures expose BJP’s oil bond falsehood. “Since 2014-15, the Modi Government has spent Rs 73,440 crore on servicing of oil bonds and against this, they have collected Rs 22.34 lakh crore through taxes on petroleum products,” Maken said at AICC Press conference.
Maken pointed out that spending on servicing of oil bonds is just 3.2 per cent of the tax collection from petroleum products.
The Congress said that in the current fiscal also, the Government has only a liability to pay Rs 20,000 crore in the form of bond repayment and interest on the outstanding oil bonds. At the present rates, the Government is expected to collect Rs 5 lakh crore from taxes on petroleum products.
He said that the real reason is not oil bonds but reduction in subsidy by 12 times and increase in taxes by three times.
“In 2020-21 alone, tax on petrol-diesel was Rs 4.53 lakh crore. It is three times more than 2013-14, “ Maken said.
He said that the BJP raised central taxes on petrol and diesel by Rs 23.87 and Rs 28.37 per litre in the last seven years. He said that the Government collected additional Rs 1.89 lakh crore every year.
Slamming the Government for high taxation on fuel, Maken said, “The Modi Government has extorted Rs 22,33,868 crore by levying excise on petrol-diesel in the last seven years.”
Citing the official figures of the petroleum planning and analysis cell, he said that during the UPA Government, it gave a subsidy on petroleum products to the tune of Rs 1.64 lakh crore in 2012-13 and Rs 1.47 lakh crore in 2013-14.
“On the contrary, the present Modi Government drastically reduced this amount year after year to Rs 12,231 crore in 2020-21,” he said.
“Since the lockdown, the increase on excise duties on petrol and diesel has surpassed all forms of exploitation and extortion”, Maken said.