In the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s second complete budget on Thursday, Kerala’s Finance Minister KN Balagopal imposed a cess on petrol, diesel, and alcohol.
On petrol and diesel, a social security levy of Rs 2 per litre would be applied. Balagopal stated in his budget address that this is anticipated to generate an additional Rs 750 crore in revenue for a Social Security Seed Fund.
For each bottle of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) that costs between Rs 500 and Rs 999, a cess of Rs 20 will be applied, and for those that cost Rs 1,000 or more, a cess of Rs 40 will be applied.
The Social Security Cess on IMFL is anticipated to bring in an extra Rs 400 crore.
The state is in financial difficulty, which is why the cess on alcohol and gasoline was decided to be implemented. Despite having financial limitations this fiscal year, the state was not in debt, according to the state’s finance minister.
“The state has the money to take out more loans. The central government’s conservatism is still present. Kerala ought to be permitted to obtain more financing for construction projects. Kerala has overcome the crisis and has come a long way “Balagopal emphasised in his statement on the budget.
