In the Union Budget for 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweaked excise duty structure to accommodate an Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC), on petrol and diesel.
The Centre, as proposed by FM Sitharaman in her third Union Budget presentation, imposed a Rs 2.5 per litre agri cess on petrol and Rs 4 a litre on diesel.
“There is an immediate need to improve agricultural infrastructure so that we produce more, while also conserving and processing agricultural output efficiently. This will ensure enhanced remuneration for our farmers. To earmark resources for this purpose, I propose an Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on a small number of items,” said Sitharaman.
