The windfall gains tax on domestically-produced crude oil has been raised by Rs 2,800 per tonne to Rs 9,600 per tonne, a finance ministry notification said on Tuesday. The cess on diesel exports, aviation turbine fuel exports and petrol remained unchanged.

The government has increased the windfall tax or Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on crude by 41 per cent, effective April 16. On April 4, it was increased from Rs 4,900 to Rs 6,800 per tonne.

With two consecutive hikes, windfall tax on crude has gone up by 96 per cent in 16 days.

The tax rates are reviewed every fortnight based on average oil prices in the previous two weeks.

The average price of Indian crude basket per barrel increased from $79.22 in January to $81.50 per barrel in February and ended the fiscal year at $84.49 in March. For the whole fiscal it averaged $82.58 per barrel.

The increase has come in the backdrop of the rise in global crude oil prices on supply concerns, the Houthi attack in the Red Sea and the meeting of the top Opec+ ministers that kept oil supply policy unchanged and pressed some countries to increase compliance with output cuts.