The government has made changes to the windfall tax on petroleum product exports, effective from Wednesday. The revision includes an increase in the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol exports to Rs 4 per litre from Rs 1.5 per litre previously. Additionally, the export duty on diesel has been reduced to Rs 8.5 per litre from Rs 14 per litre, and the levy on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) exports has been lowered to Rs 7.5 per litre from Rs 12.5 per litre.
There have been no alterations to the existing excise duty on petrol and diesel meant for domestic consumption, as confirmed by the Finance Ministry. The government had initially imposed export duties on diesel and ATF in March due to escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, with rates under regular review. A duty on petrol exports was introduced later in May.
In the previous fortnight, the government had raised the windfall tax on diesel and ATF exports while keeping the levy on petrol unchanged. The SAED on diesel exports had been increased to Rs 14 per litre from Rs 13.5 per litre, and the duty on ATF exports had been raised to Rs 12.5 per litre from Rs 9.5 per litre.
Furthermore, state-owned oil marketing companies have reduced the price of 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders by up to Rs 183.5 starting Wednesday, offering relief to commercial establishments like restaurants and hotels. The windfall tax was implemented to ensure sufficient domestic availability of petroleum products and discourage excessive exports during periods of high global crude oil prices due to the West Asia conflict.
