India Increases Windfall Tax on Petroleum Crude to Rs 4,250 per Tonne
New Delhi, 1st August 2023: Effective from August 1, 2023, the central government of India has increased the windfall tax on petroleum crude to Rs 4,250 ($51.68) per tonne, up from Rs 1,600. Nonetheless, the windfall tax on petrol and aviation turbine fuel remains unaltered.
Furthermore, the windfall tax on diesel has been introduced at 1 rupee per litre, having been previously non-existent, as per a government notification on Monday.
In a series of changes, in July of the previous year, the windfall tax on petroleum crude was raised from zero to Rs 1,600 per tonne. Subsequently, in the same month, India enforced the windfall tax on crude oil producers and expanded it to encompass exports of gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. The measure was taken to prevent private refiners from seeking higher profits from international markets’ robust refining margins instead of prioritizing sales within the country.
Notably, in May of the prior year, the government had reduced the windfall tax on petroleum crude from 4,100 rupees ($50.13) per metric ton to zero.
On April 4, the windfall tax on petroleum crude was reduced to zero from the previous rate of 3,500 rupees per tonne. However, this levy was subsequently increased to 6,400 rupees per tonne on April 19.
