Centre cuts windfall tax on crude, export taxes on aviation fuel and diesel

India has cut its windfall tax on crude oil and exports of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and diesel, according to a government notification dated Jan. 16.

It cut its windfall tax on crude to Rs 1,900 ($23.28) per tonne from Rs 2,100 per tonne, effective Tuesday.

The government also cut export tax on ATF to Rs 3.5 per litre from Rs 4.5 per litre, and cut export tax on diesel to Rs 5 per litre from Rs 6.5 per litre, the notification said.

India, a major consumer and importer of oil, has been buying Russian crude at well below a $60 price cap agreed by the West.

The country in July imposed the windfall tax on crude oil producers and levies on exports of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel after private refiners sought overseas markets to gain from robust refining margins, instead of selling more cheaply at home.

($1 = 81.6280 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru and Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Mark Potter)