India scraps excise duty on ethanol-blended fuel

• Government waives excise duty on higher ethanol-blended petrol
• E22, E25, E27 and E30 blends now have a nil excise duty rate
• Tax exemptions cover basic duty, cess and infrastructure levies

The Indian government has waived excise duty on petrol blended with higher levels of ethanol, according to the government notification.

The finance ministry has exempted 22%, 25%, 27%, and 30% ethanol-blended

petrol (E22, E25, E27 and E30) from central excise duty, extending tax benefits beyond the existing ethanol-blending regime.

According to the notification, the government removed multiple duties, including basic central excise duty, special additional excise duty, road and infrastructure cess, and Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC).

What Exactly Is Exempted?

The government inserted four new categories under the Central Excise notification:

22% ethanol-blended petrol (E22) – 78% petrol + 22% ethanol
25% ethanol-blended petrol (E25) – 75% petrol + 25% ethanol
27% ethanol-blended petrol (E27) – 73% petrol + 27% ethanol
30% ethanol-blended petrol (E30) – 70% petrol + 30% ethanol

All four categories have been assigned a ‘Nil’ excise duty rate.