Quick Answer: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has revised the windfall tax — the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) — on fuel exports with effect from 31 October 2026. Petrol export duty is now nil (down from ₹2.50/litre), diesel is ₹11.50/litre (up from ₹8.50), and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is ₹11/litre (up from ₹10.50), under Notifications No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) and No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)).
The Central Government has revised the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) — the windfall tax — on exports of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) with effect from 31 October 2026. Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) and Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)), both dated 31 October 2026 and published in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(i), No. 862, CG-DL-E-31102026-277559), set the petrol export duty to nil, raise diesel to ₹11.50 per litre, and raise ATF to ₹11 per litre. The changes apply to export clearances from the date of publication in the Official Gazette — 31 October 2026 — and do not change the duty on petrol or diesel sold for domestic consumption.
For refiners and oil marketing companies, this is a material reset: petrol exports are now entirely free of the additional duty, while the diesel levy jumps by ₹3 a litre — a rise of more than 35% — and ATF inches up by 50 paise. The revision is the latest in the fortnightly review cycle: the previous rates were set only a fortnight earlier, by Notification No. 54/2026-Central Excise dated 15 October 2026, which had fixed petrol at ₹2.50, diesel at ₹8.50 and ATF at ₹10.50 per litre.
What changed on 31 October 2026
Both notifications were issued by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) under Section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, read with Section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002, and signed by Dheeraj Sharma, Under Secretary (F. No. 190349/13/2026-TRU). Each notification states that it comes into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette — 31 October 2026.
Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) amends the principal notification No. 06/2026-Central Excise dated 26 March 2026 (G.S.R. 205(E)), which governs the SAED on petrol and diesel exports. Against serial number 1 of the table, the entry is substituted with "Nil" — petrol. Against serial number 2, the entry is substituted with "Rs. 11.5 per litre" — diesel. The notification records that the principal notification was last amended by Notification No. 54/2026-Central Excise dated 15 October 2026 (G.S.R. 894(E)).
Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)) amends the principal notification No. 08/2026-Central Excise dated 26 March 2026 (G.S.R. 207(E)), which governs the SAED on ATF exports. Against serial number 1 of the table, the entry is substituted with "Rs. 11 per litre". That principal notification was last amended by Notification No. 53/2026-Central Excise dated 30 September 2026 (G.S.R. 855(E)).
⚠️ Export duty only — not pump prices. The SAED applies to petrol, diesel and ATF cleared for export. It does not change the excise duty on fuel supplied for domestic consumption, and it does not by itself move retail petrol or diesel prices at Indian pumps. News reports of this revision that talk about "petrol prices falling" are describing export economics for refiners, not what a motorist pays.
Old vs new SAED rates
Sources: Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) and Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)), both dated 31 October 2026, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(i), No. 862. Previous rates are those set by Notification No. 54/2026-Central Excise dated 15 October 2026 (petrol and diesel) and Notification No. 53/2026-Central Excise dated 30 September 2026 (ATF), as recorded in the 31 October notifications themselves.
Why the rates moved in opposite directions
The SAED is reset roughly every fortnight in line with movements in international crude prices and refining margins — the "crack spread" between crude and finished fuel. When global product prices soften relative to crude, the windfall on exports shrinks and the duty comes down; when margins widen, it goes up. The 31 October reset moved the three fuels in different directions because petrol, diesel and jet fuel margins do not move together: petrol export margins had narrowed enough for the duty to be removed altogether, while diesel margins had widened sharply, justifying a ₹3 increase, and ATF margins had edged up by just enough for a 50-paise rise.
The pattern of the last two revisions tells the story. The 15 October revision (Notification No. 54/2026-Central Excise, effective 16 October 2026) had cut the diesel levy from ₹16 to ₹8.50 a litre and raised petrol from ₹0.50 to ₹2.50 — a sharp diesel cut and a small petrol rise. A fortnight later, the direction flipped for both: diesel is back up to ₹11.50 and petrol is out of the duty net entirely. That whipsaw is normal for this levy — it is designed to track a moving market, not to set a stable rate — and it is exactly why exporters must check the rate in force on the date of each clearance rather than assuming the last fortnight's rate still applies.
Who is affected
- Petroleum refiners and exporters: every export clearance of petrol, diesel or ATF on or after 31 October 2026 attracts the new rates. Petrol exporters keep the full ₹2.50 a litre they previously paid; diesel exporters pay ₹3 a litre more; ATF exporters pay 50 paise more.
- Oil marketing companies (OMCs): the rates feed directly into export realisations and the economics of diverting product between domestic supply and export.
- Airlines and ATF buyers: only indirectly. The ATF SAED applies to ATF exported from India, not to ATF uplifted by domestic flights, so domestic jet-fuel pricing is not directly touched — but export-parity pricing means the change still matters to refinery economics.
- Consumers and motorists: not directly affected. Domestic excise duty on petrol and diesel is unchanged, so this revision alone does not change pump prices.
- Tax and trade practitioners: the applicable rate turns on the clearance date, so filings and export documentation for clearances straddling 30–31 October 2026 must be split correctly between the old and new rates.
What exporters should do now
- Apply the new rates from 31 October 2026 clearances. The notifications came into force on publication in the Official Gazette on 31 October 2026. Clearances on or after that date attract nil (petrol), ₹11.50 (diesel) and ₹11 (ATF) per litre.
- Split straddling clearances correctly. Any export clearance dated 30 October 2026 or earlier stays on the old rates (petrol ₹2.50, diesel ₹8.50, ATF ₹10.50). Do not apply the new rates retrospectively, and do not carry the old rates forward past 31 October.
- Update price workings and contracts. Diesel export contracts priced on the old ₹8.50 levy need reworking — the ₹3 increase is the largest single fortnightly move in this cycle. Petrol export realisations improve by the full ₹2.50 a litre.
- Keep the Gazette copies on file. The operative documents are Notifications No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) and No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)), both dated 31 October 2026 — cite these, not press reports, in filings and correspondence.
- Watch the next review, due around 14 November 2026. The fortnightly cycle means the rates set on 31 October will be revisited within about two weeks. Given the size of the diesel swing this time, the next revision could move materially again in either direction.
The bigger picture: the windfall tax has been a fortnightly moving target since it was introduced on exports of crude oil, petrol, diesel and ATF in July 2022, when the government moved to capture extraordinary refining margins. Four years on, the mechanism is unchanged — only the numbers move, sometimes sharply, every two weeks. For exporters, the discipline is the same every fortnight: check the Gazette, apply the rate for the clearance date, and never assume the last rate still holds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the windfall tax (SAED) rate on petrol exports from 31 October 2026?
Nil. Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) dated 31 October 2026 substitutes "Nil" for the petrol entry, scrapping the ₹2.50 per litre duty that applied from 16 October 2026.
What is the windfall tax on diesel exports from 31 October 2026?
₹11.50 per litre, up ₹3 from ₹8.50 per litre. The new rate is set by Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) dated 31 October 2026 and applies to export clearances on or after that date.
What is the SAED on ATF exports from 31 October 2026?
₹11 per litre, up 50 paise from ₹10.50 per litre, under Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)) dated 31 October 2026.
Does the 31 October 2026 windfall tax change affect petrol and diesel prices at Indian pumps?
No. The SAED applies only to fuel cleared for export. The excise duty on petrol and diesel supplied for domestic consumption is unchanged, so this revision alone does not change retail pump prices.
Which notifications set the new windfall tax rates, and when did they take effect?
Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) covers petrol and diesel, and Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)) covers ATF. Both are dated 31 October 2026, were published in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(i), No. 862), and came into force on the date of publication — 31 October 2026.
When is the next windfall tax (SAED) revision due?
The SAED is reviewed roughly every fortnight, so the next revision is expected around 14 November 2026. The previous revision was Notification No. 54/2026-Central Excise dated 15 October 2026, effective 16 October 2026.
What is the legal basis for the windfall tax notifications?
Both notifications are issued under Section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, read with Section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002. Notification No. 55/2026 amends Notification No. 06/2026-Central Excise dated 26 March 2026, and Notification No. 56/2026 amends Notification No. 08/2026-Central Excise dated 26 March 2026.
Sources
- Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(i), No. 862, 31 October 2026 (CG-DL-E-31102026-277559) — Notification No. 55/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 963(E)) and Notification No. 56/2026-Central Excise (G.S.R. 964(E)) — full Gazette text (PDF copy)
- TaxGuru — "CBIC Sets Petrol Export SAED at Nil, Diesel at ₹11.50/Litre from 31 October 2026" — taxguru.in
- The Economic Times / The Tribune / Business Today — reporting of the 31 October 2026 SAED revision (rates corroborated across outlets)
Last verified by team: 9 November 2026. Rates are as published in the Gazette of India on 31 October 2026; always confirm the rate in force on the date of clearance before filing.
