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Informist, Friday, Mar. 27, 2026

 

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--Govt cuts excise duty on diesel to nil from INR 10/ltr
--Govt cuts excise duty on petrol to INR 3/ltr from INR 13/ltr
--Sitharaman:Export duty levy on diesel, ATF to ensure domestic availability
--Sitharaman: Levied INR 29.50/ litre export duty on aviation turbine fuel
--Sitharaman: Levied INR 21.50/ litre export duty on diesel

 

NEW DELHI – The government has cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel by INR 10 per litre, the finance ministry said in a notification published Friday. It has also levied an export duty of INR 21.50 per litre on diesel and INR 29.50 per litre on aviation turbine fuel.

 

The excise duty on petrol has been cut to INR 3 per litre from INR 13 per litre. The duty on diesel has been lowered to zero from INR 10 per litre. The move comes at a time when the price of Brent Crude has jumped 47% to over $100 per barrel in the aftermath of the US and Israel launching a joint attack on Iran on Feb 28.

 

The excise duty cuts will not result in a lowering of the retail price of the fuels. Considering the rise in crude oil price, the government has chosen to take a hit on its finances to avoid increasing the retail price of petrol and diesel, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a post on the social media platform X.

 

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the move to impose export duty on diesel and aviation turbine fuel will ensure adequate availability of these products for domestic consumption. Any refinery exporting these fuels to foreign countries will have to pay the tax.

 

"Government has taken a huge hit on it taxation revenues to ensure very high losses of oil companies (approximately INR 24/litre for petrol and INR 30/litre for diesel) at this time of sky-high international prices are reduced," Puri said in his post. The government may have to bear an annualised fiscal hit of INR 1.55 trillion due to the excise duty cut, according to Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.27

 

Reported by Krity Ambey

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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