- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: PTI
INDIAN finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (1) said the Narendra Modi government will review every fortnight the new taxes levied on crude, diesel and ATF (aviation turbine fuel) based on international prices.
She said these are “extraordinary times” and oil prices are internationally unbridled.
“We do not want to discourage export, but want domestic availability to increase,” Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi.
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She said if oil is not available and exports are happening at such phenomenal profit, we need at least some of it for our own citizens.
“We need to take this twin-pronged approach,” the minister added.
The Modi government on Friday slapped an export tax on petrol, diesel and ATF while also joining nations like the UK in imposing a windfall tax on crude oil produced locally.
A ₹6 (£0.063) per litre tax on export of petrol and ATF and ₹13 (£0.14) per litre tax on export of diesel is effective from Friday.
Additionally, a ₹23,250 (£244) per tonne tax was levied on crude oil produced domestically.
India’s revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj said the new taxes would be applicable on SEZ (Special Economic Zone) units.
“But, the export restriction will not be applicable,” he said.
On the rupee, Sitharaman said both the Indian government and the country’s central bank (Reserve Bank of India) are keenly watching the situation. The government is conscious of the impact of the rupee’s value on imports.
