IANS | 01 May, 2024
The Government has cut the windfall tax on crude oil to Rs 8,400 a
metric ton from Rs 9,600 with effect from Wednesday as part of its
fortnightly revision.
Upstream oil exploration and production
companies ONGC and Oil India Ltd stand to gain as they will have to pay a
lower tax on their crude.
The reduction in the windfall tax has
been announced in view of the decline in crude oil prices in the market
which means the upstream oil companies are not making as much money as
they were earlier.
The government had on April 16 raised the
windfall tax on petroleum crude to Rs 9,600 a metric ton from Rs 6,800
due to the sharp increase in oil prices at the time.
The windfall
tax on crude was introduced in July last year as a sudden spike in
prices had increased the earnings of the oil companies and the
government wanted to tap part of this gain to reduce the fiscal deficit.
The
windfall tax was extended to exports of petrol, diesel and aviation
fuel after private refineries started raking in big gains from overseas
markets, instead of selling the fuels in the domestic market.
The government has left the windfall tax on these fuels unchanged in the current round.
