India imposes export tax on petrol, diesel, jet fuel

India today imposed export tax on petrol, diesel and jet fuel (ATF) while also joining nations like the UK in imposing a windfall tax on crude oil produced locally.

A Rs 6 per litre tax on export of petrol and ATF and Rs 13 per litre tax on export of diesel is effective from July 1, reports our New Delhi correspondent citing a Finance Ministry notification.

Additionally, a Rs 23,250 per tonne tax was levied on crude oil produced in India.

The export tax is to deter companies such as Reliance Industries and Rosneft-based Nayara Energy from preferring overseas markets over domestic supplies, officials said.

The levy on crude, which follows record earnings by state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) and private sector Cairn Oil & Gas of Vedanta Ltd, alone will fetch the government over Rs 7,000 crore annually on about 30 million tonnes of crude oil produced domestically.

A windfall tax is a one-off tax on companies that have seen their profits surge extraordinarily simply because of favourable market conditions.

Recently, the UK levied a 25 percent tax on "extraordinary" profits from North Sea oil and gas production to raise USD 6.3 billion to help fund its support package.