Windfall tax on crude oil returns amid price surge
Live MintNew Delhi: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has re-introduced the windfall tax on crude oil a fortnight after bringing it down to zero. Since India follows trade parity pricing of crude oil and petrol, producers of crude oil and refineries that sell finished products realise global prices in the local market. So windfall tax on profits of crude oil producers and refiners on exported products enable the government to benefit from the gain from a surge in their global prices. The reimposition of the windfall tax comes in the backdrop of a surge in crude oil prices in the past fortnight. On the heels of the last revision of the windfall tax, OPEC+, the alliance of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia decided to go ahead with an additional output cut of around 1.16 million barrels per day starting May.