The government has extended central excise duty exemptions to petrol blended with 22 per cent, 25 per cent, 27 per cent and 30 per cent ethanol. There will be a nil excise duty rate for fuel blends that conform to BIS standards.

This decision comes through official notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance under the Department of Revenue in the latest issue of The Gazette of India.

The statutory definition for each blend follows a precise composition rule to qualify for the nil duty rate.

“22% ethanol blended petrol that is a blend, – (a) consisting, by volume, of 78% motor spirit, (commonly known as petrol), on which the appropriate duties of excise have been paid and of 22% ethanol on which the appropriate Central tax, State tax, Union territory tax or Integrated tax, as the case may be, have been paid; and (b) conforming to the Bureau of Indian Standards specification IS 19850,” the Gazette stated.

The exact same structural parameters apply to the remaining higher percentage fuel mixtures. The Gazette clarifies the volume requirements for the maximum blend level included in this fiscal measure.

“30% ethanol blended petrol that is a blend, – (a) consisting, by volume, of 70% motor spirit, (commonly known as petrol), on which the appropriate duties of excise have been paid and of 30% ethanol on which the appropriate Central tax, State tax, Union territory tax or Integrated tax, as the case may be, have been paid; and (b) conforming to the Bureau of Indian Standards specification IS 19850,” it stated.

The explanation section in the notifications states that appropriate duties of excise mean the duties of excise as leviable under the Fourth Schedule to the Central Excise Act, 1944, the additional duty of excise leviable under section 112 of the Finance Act, 2018, and the special additional excise duty leviable under section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002.

It also encompasses the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess leviable under section 125 of the Finance Act, 2021.