Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a new cess on several goods including fuel and liquor to improve the agriculture infrastructure in the country.
"I propose an Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on certain goods," Ms. Sitharaman said in her Budget speech presented in the Parliament on Monday.
The AIDC has been proposed on petrol and diesel. It will be Rs.2.5/litre on petrol and Rs.4/litre on diesel. Consequent to the imposition of AIDC, the Basic Excise Duty (BED) and Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol and diesel is being reduced so that consumer does not have to bear any additional burden, Ms. Sitharaman said.
The AIDC will be imposed in addition to basic customs on gold, silver and dore bars, alcoholic beverages, crude palm oil, crude soybean, and sunflower oil, apples, coal, lignite and peat, select fertilizers, peas, Kabuli chana, chick peas, lentil and cotton (not carded or combed).
The AIDC is least (1.5%) for coal and most (100%) for imported liquor. The customs duty for the goods covered under AIDC have been rationalised to ensure the consumer doesn't bear the additional burden on most of these items, Ms. Sitharaman added.
The AIDC will be used to finance the improvement of agriculture infrastructure and other development expenditures.
| Goods | Cess |
| Gold, Silver and dore bars | 2.5% |
| Alcoholic beverages (falling under chapter 22) | 100% |
| Crude palm oil | 17.5% |
| Crude soyabean and sunflower oil | 20% |
| Apples | 35% |
| Coal, lignite and peat | 1.5% |
| Specified fertilizers (Urea etc) | 5% |
| Peas | 40% |
| Kabuli Chana | 30% |
| Bengal Gram/Chick peas | 50% |
| Lentil (Mosur) | 20% |
| Cotton (not carded or combed) | 5% |
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