BackBudget 2016-17: Clean energy cess doubled to Rs400 per tonne of coal
The cess, used to finance clean environment initiatives, has been renamed the 'clean environment cess', says finance minister Arun Jaitley
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New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley Monday doubled the clean energy cess to ₹ 400 per tonne of coal from ₹ 200 per tonne at present and also introduced an infrastructure cess on petrol, diesel and luxury cars while presenting the Union budget 2016-17.
The finance minister renamed the cess, which is used to finance clean environment initiatives, as the “clean environment cess".
In the 2015-16 budget, Jaitley had doubled the clean energy cess from ₹ 100 to ₹ 200 per tonne. India, which is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is among the few countries in the world to have introduced a carbon tax. Also, with India bullish on coal mining, the annual collection of the cess is expected to be substantial.
In another important measure for the environment in the budget, the finance minister proposed an infrastructure cess of 1% on small cars (petrol, CNG and LPG), 2.5% on small diesel cars and 4% on luxury vehicles and SUVs (worth above ₹ 10 lakh).
Jaitley also set aside ₹ 2,000 crore to provide liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to below poverty line (BPL) households in rural areas.
The government move is an attempt to help rural households move away from firewood as cooking fuel as that results in serious breathing problems to women. Jaitley said the LPG connections will be given to women in BPL families.
The finance minister also lauded the 750,000 middle-class and lower-middle-class families that gave up their LPG subsidy in response to a request from the prime minister.
In another green measure, the government said that it will not provide printed copies of the Union budget.
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