New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The government has revised the windfall tax on exports of petroleum products, raising the levy on petrol while reducing the duty on diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), with the changes taking effect from Wednesday.

According to a Finance Ministry notification, the revised rates — which came into effect from July 1 — increase the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol exports to Rs 4 per litre from Rs 1.5 per litre earlier.

At the same time, the export duty on diesel has been reduced to Rs 8.5 per litre from Rs 14 per litre, while the levy on ATF exports has been cut to Rs 7.5 per litre from Rs 12.5 per litre.

There is no change in the existing excise duty on petrol and diesel supplied for domestic consumption, the ministry said.

Moreover, the government had imposed the export duty on diesel and ATF in March following the escalation of geopolitical tensions in West Asia, with the rates being reviewed every fortnight. An export levy on petrol was introduced from May 16.

In the previous fortnight, the government had increased the windfall tax on diesel and ATF exports while leaving the levy on petrol unchanged.

The SAED on diesel exports was raised to Rs 14 per litre from Rs 13.5 per litre, while the duty on ATF exports was increased to Rs 12.5 per litre from Rs 9.5 per litre.

Separately, state-owned oil marketing companies reduced the price of 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders by up to Rs 183.5 from Wednesday, providing relief to restaurants, hotels and other commercial establishments.

The windfall tax was introduced to ensure adequate domestic availability of petroleum products and discourage excessive exports during periods of elevated global crude oil prices triggered by the conflict in West Asia.

–IANS

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