Crude Imports Down 35 Pc, Petroleum Product Exports Up 5.88 Pc In Crisis-Hit March
As the crude prices went up, the government offered excise duty cuts to oil marketing companies to cushion the margins: Reports
CHENNAI: Amid the West Asia crisis, crude and petroleum product imports were down 35.9 per cent in March. However, exports of petroleum products grew 5.88 per cent in the same month.
As per the data of the Commerce Ministry, the imports of petroleum, crude and products were down to $12 billion in March against $19 billion the same month of last year. The blockade in the Hormuz Strait restricted the shipping of crude in March and this affected the total imports of crude and petroleum in FY26 as it declined 6.37 per cent to $173 billion against $185 billion in FY25.
However, exports of petroleum products grew 5.88 per cent in March to $5 billion against $4.8 billion in the same month last year. The leading exporter of petroleum products is Reliance Energy. Nayara Energy and IOCL too export petroleum products.
The government had recently raised the windfall gain tax on export-bound diesel by over 158 per cent and on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by 42 per cent. The levy on diesel has been increased to Rs 55.5 per litre from Rs 21.5 per litre earlier. Similarly, export-bound jet fuel will now attract a duty of Rs 42 per litre compared to Rs 29.5 per litre previously, while export duty on petrol continues to remain nil.
However, the petroleum products exported from Reliance Energy’s SEZ refineries are not subject to windfall taxes.
As the crude prices went up, the government offered excise duty cuts to oil marketing companies to cushion the margins. According to the government, the Rs 10 per litre excise duty cut on petrol and diesel was meant to reduce the under-recoveries being absorbed by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs). In the first half of FY26, the combined net profit of oil marketing companies was over Rs 34,000 crore.
