Government Resets Fuel Export Levies from September 1; Petrol SAED ₹1.5/Litre, ATF ₹19, Diesel RIC ₹1

The Ministry of Finance has reset three petroleum-export levies with effect from September 1, 2026, issuing a coordinated set of Central Excise notifications that changes the per-litre burden on petrol, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and high-speed diesel exports. The changes are contained in Notifications 46/2026-Central Excise, 47/2026-Central Excise and 48/2026-Central Excise, all dated September 1 and published together in the Gazette of India.

Read with the principal notifications they amend, the new rates are ₹1.50 per litre for Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol exports, ₹19 per litre for SAED on ATF exports and ₹1 per litre for Road and Infrastructure Cess (RIC) on high-speed diesel exports. The Gazette makes each amendment effective from the date of publication, so affected export clearances from September 1 need to be mapped to the revised rate structure.

Three notifications, three different rate changes

Notification 46/2026-Central Excise amends Notification 06/2026-Central Excise of March 26, 2026. It substitutes the rate against serial number 1 in column 4 of the relevant table with ₹1.5 per litre. The notification was issued under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002. The immediately preceding amendment cited in the Gazette was Notification 43/2026-Central Excise dated August 14, 2026.

Supporting analysis of the principal notification identifies serial number 1 as motor spirit, commonly known as petrol, cleared for export. The rate had been brought to nil from August 15 under the previous amendment; the September 1 notification therefore brings the petrol-export SAED back at ₹1.50 per litre.

Notification 47/2026-Central Excise separately amends Notification 08/2026-Central Excise dated March 26, 2026. It substitutes ₹19 per litre against serial number 1. This notification also relies on section 5A of the Central Excise Act read with section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002. The principal notification covers ATF exported from India. The immediately preceding Notification 44/2026-Central Excise had prescribed ₹19.50 per litre from August 15, meaning the September change reduces that effective ATF export SAED by ₹0.50 per litre.

Notification 48/2026-Central Excise amends Notification 11/2026-Central Excise dated March 26, 2026 and substitutes ₹1 per litre against serial number 2 in column 4. Its legal basis is section 5A of the Central Excise Act read with section 112 of the Finance Act, 2018. The principal notification and recent amendment history identify this entry with the Road and Infrastructure Cess on high-speed diesel exports. The immediately preceding Notification 45/2026-Central Excise had put the rate at nil from August 15, so the September notification restores a ₹1 per litre charge.

Why finance and tax teams should not treat this as one blanket fuel rate

The three notifications were published together and share file reference F. No. 190349/13/2026-TRU, but they do not impose one uniform petroleum export duty. Petrol and ATF are addressed through SAED under the Finance Act, 2002 framework, while the diesel change concerns RIC under the Finance Act, 2018 framework. That distinction matters for classification, duty computation, ledger mapping and reconciliation.

For exporters and their advisers, the first control point is the date of clearance. The notifications say they take effect on Gazette publication, so September 1 becomes the cut-off for the revised rates. Systems that calculate export levies should therefore be checked for the correct effective date as well as the correct product and levy type.

Immediate compliance checks

- Update rate masters: map ₹1.50/litre to the petrol-export SAED entry, ₹19/litre to ATF-export SAED and ₹1/litre to diesel-export RIC.

- Recheck September 1 clearances: identify shipments or clearances processed around the changeover and confirm the system applied the new effective rate.

- Read the amendment with the principal notification: the amending Gazette changes rate entries; scope, exclusions and product descriptions remain anchored in the principal notifications.

- Separate levy ledgers: avoid combining SAED and RIC simply because both are expressed per litre and were amended on the same date.

- Reconcile export documentation and duty workings: finance and indirect-tax teams should align invoice, shipping, customs/excise and general-ledger data for the new rates.

The September 1 package is a rate reset rather than a new broad-based levy. Its practical effect is product-specific: petrol-export SAED is ₹1.50 per litre, ATF-export SAED is ₹19 per litre, and diesel-export RIC is ₹1 per litre. CAs and indirect-tax teams handling petroleum exports should update effective-date controls immediately and verify the applicable principal notification before applying a rate to any clearance.

Key takeaway

Fresh September 1 rate changes affect petroleum export duty calculations and are likely to generate immediate professional searches for the three notification numbers and revised per-litre rates.

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