The Centre on Saturday scrapped the special additional excise duty (SAED) on petrol exports, bringing the levy down to nil from Rs 2.50 per litre, while raising the export duty on diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The revised rates came into effect on October 31, the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, according to notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Under the new rates, the duty on high-speed diesel exports has been raised to Rs 11.50 per litre from Rs 8.50 per litre — an increase of Rs 3 — while the ATF export levy has gone up to Rs 11 per litre from Rs 10.50 per litre. Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise covers the ATF increase, and the petrol and diesel changes were notified by the Department of Revenue through separate central excise notifications.

Source: Nation Press

NilPetrol export duty, down from Rs 2.50/litre
Rs 11.50/litreDiesel export duty, up from Rs 8.50
Rs 11/litreATF export duty, up from Rs 10.50
October 31, 2026Date the new rates took effect

Why the levies exist

India first imposed export levies on petrol, diesel and ATF on March 27, 2026, against the backdrop of the West Asia crisis, with the stated objective of ensuring domestic availability of petroleum products by discouraging exports. The government reviews the rates every fortnight, taking into account average international prices of crude oil and refined products since the previous review.

The previous revision, effective October 16, had set the duties at Rs 2.50 per litre on petrol, Rs 8.50 per litre on diesel and Rs 10.50 per litre on ATF. Saturday's reset therefore reverses the petrol increase made earlier in October while tightening the levy on the two fuels India consumes and moves in the largest volumes.

What it does — and does not — change

The duties apply to fuel exported by domestic refiners; they are not a change in domestic pump prices, which are set through a separate pricing and tax mechanism. For refiners, exporting petrol is now duty-free, while shipping diesel or jet fuel abroad carries a higher cost — a nudge to keep more diesel and ATF available at home. The next fortnightly review, due in mid-November, will show whether this reset holds.

In short

Petrol exports: duty-free from October 31. Diesel exports: Rs 11.50 a litre. Jet fuel exports: Rs 11 a litre. Domestic petrol and diesel pump prices are not changed by these notifications.