New Delhi, May 16 (IANS): The government has revised export taxes on petroleum products effective Saturday, imposing a special additional excise duty of Rs 3 per litre on petrol exports – the first such duty since the outbreak of the West Asia conflict – while reducing the export duty on diesel to Rs 16.5 per litre and cutting the road and infrastructure cess on both petrol and diesel exports to zero, according to a Ministry of Finance notification. Aviation turbine fuel export duty has also been reduced to Rs 16 per litre, continuing a series of downward revisions in recent months. Domestic fuel tax rates remain unchanged. The diesel export duty has undergone multiple revisions since the West Asia crisis began, having been first set at Rs 21.50 per litre on March 26, raised sharply to Rs 55.5 per litre on April 11, cut to Rs 23 per litre on April 30, and now further reduced to Rs 16.5 per litre.
ATF export duty followed a similar pattern, having been set at Rs 29.5 per litre, raised to Rs 42 per litre, reduced to Rs 33 per litre, and now brought down further to Rs 16 per litre. The windfall tax framework was introduced to ensure adequate domestic fuel availability and curb exports amid volatile global oil markets triggered by the West Asia crisis. Geopolitical tensions in the region remain elevated following the failure of US-Iran peace talks, with US President Donald Trump rejecting Iran’s proposal, describing it as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.” The ongoing uncertainty in West Asia continues to weigh heavily on global energy markets and remains a key driver of India’s evolving petroleum export tax policy.