India cuts windfall taxes on fuel exports as global prices fall

NEW DELHI: India eliminated a levy on gasoline exports and cut windfall taxes on other fuels less than three weeks after they were imposed, offering relief for the nation’s No. 1 fuel exporter Reliance Industries Ltd. and top crude explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp.
New Delhi reduced the windfall tax on diesel and aviation fuel shipments by 2 rupees (3 cents) a liter, and scrapped completely a 6-rupees-per-liter levy on gasoline exports, according to a government notification. It also cut the tax on domestically produced crude by about 27% to 17,000 rupees a ton. Bloomberg News first reported Thursday that the government was considering lowering the taxes.
India imposed the taxes on July 1, joining a growing number of nations placing windfall levies to tap energy companies’ booming profits. But international fuel prices have cooled since then, eroding profit margins at both oil producers and refiners.