Centre scraps petrol export duty and raises diesel and ATF export levies from 31 October

The government has scrapped the special additional excise duty (SAED) on petrol exports and raised the levies on diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) exports, effective Saturday, 31 October, according to notifications from the finance ministry's Department of Revenue, as reported by Mathrubhumi, The Hindu BusinessLine and Open. This piece is as of the evening of 31 October.

The new rates

The Hindu BusinessLine reports that the petrol export duty fell to nil from Rs 2.5 per litre, the diesel levy rose to Rs 11.5 from Rs 8.5 per litre, and the ATF duty rose to Rs 11 from Rs 10.5. Mathrubhumi describes this as a Rs 3 per litre rise on diesel and a 50 paise rise on ATF, and says the ATF revision was issued through Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise. CNBC-TV18 says Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise covered petrol and diesel and No. 56/2026 covered ATF, and that the ministry split the diesel levy into SAED of Rs 11.5 per litre and a Road and Infrastructure Cess of nil, while The Free Press Journal describes Rs 11.5 as the combined SAED and cess.

Background

The previous revision took effect on 16 October, per Open and Mathrubhumi, setting the levies at Rs 2.5, Rs 8.5 and Rs 10.5 per litre for petrol, diesel and ATF. CNBC-TV18 adds that this lowered the diesel SAED from Rs 16 and raised the petrol levy from Rs 0.5. CNBC-TV18 and Mathrubhumi say levies on petrol, diesel and ATF were all introduced from 27 March 2026 after the war in West Asia, with the stated aim of ensuring domestic availability by discouraging refiners from exporting fuel to markets that offered higher prices. The Free Press Journal says only diesel and ATF were taxed from 27 March and that petrol exports were brought under the framework from 16 May, and Open says the petrol levy came subsequently; The Free Press Journal also refers to the levy as a windfall gains tax, a term the other outlets do not use. Mathrubhumi says the rates are reviewed every fortnight based on average international prices of crude oil, petrol, diesel and ATF since the previous review.

What it means for consumers

Open says the notification does not directly raise petrol or diesel prices at Indian fuel stations, since the rates apply to exports, and notes that retail prices depend on several factors including crude prices, refining and transport costs, central excise duty and state VAT. The Free Press Journal says the Finance Ministry clarified that existing duty rates on petrol and diesel supplied for domestic consumption remain unchanged.