NEW DELHI: India plans to extend restrictions on the export of diesel and gasoline after the current fiscal year ends this month to ensure the availability of refined fuels for the domestic market, two government sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The extension of rules may discourage some Indian refiners, mainly private companies, from buying Russian fuels for re-exports to countries including those in Europe that have stopped purchases of refined products from Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, imposed a windfall tax on refined fuel exports last year and mandated that companies sell the equivalent of 50% of their gasoline exports and 30% of their diesel exports domestically in the current fiscal year to March 31.
New Delhi issued the rare restrictions after private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, key Indian buyers of discounted Russian supplies, began reaping major profits by aggressively boosting fuel exports instead of domestic sales.
That forced state refiners to fill the void and meet demand at home by selling fuels at government-capped lower prices.
India’s oil and commerce ministries are discussing the extension of the order to beyond this fiscal year, one of the government sources said.
“We would like to extend it … we want private companies to sell diesel and petrol in the Indian market. Why should only state-run companies suffer when all Indian refiners are buying discounted Russian oil,” the official said.
A new notification is expected this week or early next week, the source added.
India’s trade ministry directed Reuters to seek comments from the oil ministry. The oil and finance ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The extension of rules may discourage some Indian refiners, mainly private companies, from buying Russian fuels for re-exports to countries including those in Europe that have stopped purchases of refined products from Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, imposed a windfall tax on refined fuel exports last year and mandated that companies sell the equivalent of 50% of their gasoline exports and 30% of their diesel exports domestically in the current fiscal year to March 31.
New Delhi issued the rare restrictions after private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, key Indian buyers of discounted Russian supplies, began reaping major profits by aggressively boosting fuel exports instead of domestic sales.
That forced state refiners to fill the void and meet demand at home by selling fuels at government-capped lower prices.
India’s oil and commerce ministries are discussing the extension of the order to beyond this fiscal year, one of the government sources said.
“We would like to extend it … we want private companies to sell diesel and petrol in the Indian market. Why should only state-run companies suffer when all Indian refiners are buying discounted Russian oil,” the official said.
A new notification is expected this week or early next week, the source added.
India’s trade ministry directed Reuters to seek comments from the oil ministry. The oil and finance ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
For all the latest business News Click Here
Denial of responsibility! TechAI is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
