The Centre has raised the export duty on petrol to Rs 2.50 per litre and cut the duty on diesel to Rs 8.50 per litre.
The levies were reintroduced in March 2026 after crude prices spiked and are reviewed every fortnight.
A higher duty on petrol exports makes selling abroad less attractive for refiners.
A lower diesel duty makes diesel exports more attractive than before.
The reports gave no reason for the specific changes.
The diesel duty was Rs 16 per litre earlier, according to the same report.
Northlines says the diesel figure includes the special additional excise duty and the road and infrastructure cess.
The duty on aviation turbine fuel stayed at Rs 10.50 per litre, according to Reporters Today.
The changes were issued in a government order late on Thursday, October 15, according to News24.
The previous revision was on October 1, according to Reporters Today, and the duties are reviewed every fortnight, according to The Statesman.
The levies were withdrawn in 2024 and reintroduced in March 2026 after crude oil prices spiked during the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to The Statesman.
The revision covers exports only, and domestic excise duties are unchanged, so it does not directly move pump prices, according to The Statesman.
HDFC Sky reported that petrol and diesel prices held steady on October 16 as the government revised the export duties.
A windfall tax is a levy on unusually high profits that arise from market conditions and not from a company’s own decisions, and in this case it is applied to fuel exports.
An export duty on fuels is meant to encourage refiners to supply the domestic market first and to capture part of the extra earnings from high international prices.
A higher duty on petrol exports makes selling petrol abroad less attractive, while a lower duty on diesel makes diesel exports more attractive than before.
Jamnagar refinery (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
