Govt's move to tax fuel export will impact policy change in energy sector

The export tax on fuels and cess on domestic crude oil production are likely to add to the climate of policy uncertainty in the energy sector

The ease of doing business is slowly turning into the unease of doing business, at least as far as the energy sector is concerned.

The imposition of export taxes on fuels, and a usurious cess on domestic crude production will make the government richer by Rs 1 trillion this fiscal, around 0.37 per cent of GDP, according to Nomura, but it leaves barrels of uncertainty and many unanswered questions for Indian explorers, refiners, and prospective marquee investors led by Saudi Aramco, Adnoc, Exxon, Total and Shell.

Private refiners are scrambling to clarify if the new tax applies to exports from special export