The Indian government has increased duties on diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) exports, targeting private refiners who were making windfall gains through exports while rationing domestic sales.
The finance ministry issued a notification on Saturday, raising duties on diesel from ₹21.50 to ₹55.50 a litre and on ATF from ₹29.50 to ₹42 a litre with immediate effect.
The move comes as international oil prices soared, making exports highly lucrative compared to domestic sales. Private fuel retailers preferred selling in the overseas market due to the dominant public sector fuel retailers freezing pump prices of automobile fuels in the country.
State-run IOC, BPCL, and HPCL hold a near-monopoly in domestic fuel retailing with about 90% market-share. As domestic sales are a loss-making business, private fuel retailers adopted measures to minimize their losses, including raising rates marginally and dispensing limited quantities of fuel.
State-run oil marketing companies were losing ₹24.40 per litre revenue on petrol and ₹104.99 a litre on diesel, while state-run OMCs raised ATF prices by over 100% for both domestic and foreign airlines to check revenue losses.
