Govt scraps windfall profit tax on domestic crude oil, export of fuels
The Hindu
Government scraps windfall profit tax on crude oil and fuel exports due to declining international oil prices.
The government on Monday (December 2, 2024) scrapped 30-month old windfall profit tax on domestically-produced crude oil and on export of jet fuel (ATF), diesel and petrol following a decline in international oil prices.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary tabled a notification in Rajya Sabha scrapping the levy on crude oil produced by firms like state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and exports of fuels done by companies like Reliance Industries Ltd.
The notification rescinded June 30, 2022 order and withdrew levy of special additional excise duty (SAED) on production of crude oil (which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel) and on export of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), diesel and petrol, he said.
Alongside, the road and infrastructure cess (RIC) levied on export of petrol and diesel has also been withdrawn.
India first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1, 2022 joining a growing number of nations that tax super normal profits of energy companies. At that time, export duties of ₹6 per litre ($12 per barrel) each were levied on petrol and ATF and ₹13 a litre ($26 a barrel) on diesel.
A ₹23,250 per tonne ($40 per barrel) windfall profit tax on domestic crude production was also levied.
The tax rates were reviewed every fortnight based on average oil prices in the previous two weeks.
According to officials in the Agriculture Department and scientists at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Kalaburagi, the drying of the crops is a direct result of insufficient rainfall. As per the data, the region received about 5 mm of rainfall in November, compared to the normal 20 mm, translating to a 70% deficit at a critical stage of the crop’s growth.