New Delhi - The Indian government has recalibrated its export duties on petroleum products, enacting changes effective May 16. The move sees an increase in the export duty on petrol, now set at ₹3 per litre. Concurrently, levies on diesel exports have been reduced to ₹16.5 per litre, and on aviation turbine fuel to ₹16 per litre. This adjustment follows a recent increase in domestic retail fuel prices, the first since February, coinciding with escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
The decision to raise petrol export duty to ₹3 per litre is noted as the first instance of such a levy since the commencement of the US-Iran conflict. This signals a shift in the government's approach to managing domestic energy markets in the face of global supply chain fragilities. The simultaneous reduction in duties for diesel and aviation fuel suggests an effort to balance export competitiveness with domestic availability or pricing strategies.
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The Finance Ministry, through a government notification, communicated these revised duty structures. This latest announcement comes within a day of domestic fuel prices being adjusted upwards, a development not seen since the international conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran escalated in February.
Historical Context of Fuel Policy Adjustments
Previously, on March 27, 2026, the government had implemented significant changes, including an excise duty cut on petrol and diesel by ₹10 per litre. At that time, an export duty of ₹21.5 per litre was imposed on diesel and ₹29.5 per litre on aviation turbine fuel. These earlier measures were framed as a means to shield consumers from the impact of rising global crude oil prices and to insulate citizens from volatility in essential commodity markets, according to statements made by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The recurring adjustments underscore the government's ongoing attempts to navigate volatile global energy markets, a challenge exacerbated by persistent geopolitical instability in West Asia.
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