Government Hikes Windfall Tax On Crude Petroleum

The government increased the windfall tax on crude petroleum on Monday. The special additional excise duty on crude petroleum has been raised from Rs 6,800 per tonne to Rs 9,600 per tonne, according to a gazette notification.

The new tax rates will take effect on April 16, it said. The taxes on diesel, petrol and aviation turbine fuel will continue to remain nil.

Every two weeks, the tax rates are reviewed based on the average oil prices from the previous two weeks.

India first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1 last year, joining a growing number of nations that tax the supernormal profits of energy companies.