The Centre has raised the export duty on petrol to Rs 2.50 per litre from Rs 0.50 and cut the duty on diesel to Rs 8.50 per litre from Rs 16, effective October 16.
The fortnightly resets show a government adjusting to an oil shock in small steps. The levies were withdrawn in 2024 and brought back in March 2026 after crude prices spiked, and the last revision was on October 1.
For refiners, the changes tilt the economics. Petrol exports become less attractive and diesel exports more attractive than before, though the reports carried no company response or estimate of the revenue effect.
For consumers, nothing changes immediately, as domestic excise duties and pump prices are unaffected.
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The levies were withdrawn in 2024 and reintroduced in March 2026 after crude oil prices spiked during the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to The Statesman.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.
The reports did not give the reasons for the specific changes in the rates.
Jamnagar refinery (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0