India cuts windfall tax on crude oil, hikes for aviation fuel, diesel

New Delhi:  India has slashed the windfall tax on the export of crude oil from Rs 11,000 to Rs 9,500 per tonne, as per an official gazette notification by the Ministry of Finance.

However, the windfall tax on the export of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has been hiked from Rs 3.50 per litre to Rs 5, and from Rs 12 per litre to Rs 13 for diesel. A tax levied on an unforeseen or unexpectedly large profit is called a windfall tax.

The notification containing the revised tax structure shall come into force immediately from today.

As exports are becoming highly remunerative, it has been seen that certain refiners are drying out their pumps in the domestic market, an official statement had earlier said while imposing windfall tax.

The government initially introduced the windfall tax on July 1.

The government then said it will have no implication on domestic retail prices of diesel and petrol and will ensure domestic availability of petroleum products.

For the record, taking into account windfall gains being accumulated by the domestic crude producers due to rising global crude prices in recent months, the Centre had initially imposed a cess of Rs 23,250 per tonne on crude oil.