India In-Focus – Shares up; unexpected tax deduction on the sale of crude oil; India’s eye on foreign investment
RIYADH: Indian shares rose more than 1 per cent to a six-week high on Wednesday as oil producers and refiners rallied after the government slashed taxes on local crude sales and fuel exports. I.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.2 per cent to 16,537 as of 0458 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.3 per cent at 55,459.14. Both the indices reached their highest level since June 6.
India cuts unexpected tax on local crude oil sales, fuel exports
India slashed unexpected taxes on oil producers and refiners and exempted gasoline from export levies, less than a month after imposing two tariffs.
Shares of oil companies rose, which will benefit from this move. Reliance Industries rose 4.3 per cent, Oil India 8.8 per cent, Oil and Natural Gas Corp 6.8 per cent and Vedanta 4.3 per cent.
The government said in a statement that the export tax of Rs 6 per liter would no longer be applicable on gasoline. It had reduced duty on diesel and aviation-fuel exports from Rs 2 per liter to Rs 10 and Rs 4 per liter respectively.
An unexpected tax on domestically produced crude was reduced from Rs 23,250 to Rs 17,000 per tonne.
The removal of duty on gasoline will particularly benefit Reliance’s 704,000-barrel-per-day export-focused refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat state.
All the changes have become effective from July 20.
On July 1, India imposed unexpected taxes on crude oil producers and levies on exports of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel, as private refiners sold overseas to profit from strong refining margins instead of selling at lower rates from the market in the country. were turning towards. ,
India to invest abroad, seeks long-term deals for fertilizers
Fertilizer Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said India plans to hedge against surge in fertilizer supply and prices by expanding its footprint in mineral-rich countries through investments and multi-year import deals.
The world’s second largest producer of wheat and rice relies mostly on annual import deals and spot purchases to meet growing demand for fertilizers from its agricultural sector, which accounts for 15 percent of the more than $3 trillion economy.
“We have to take our relationship with fertilizer suppliers forward, apart from being mere buyers and sellers,” Mandaviya told Reuters in an interview.
He added: “We want to build a strategic partnership with them through investments in their assets.”
He said Indian companies are looking to buy phosphoric acid mines in Senegal and diammonium phosphate mines in Saudi Arabia and similar properties in Africa and Canada.
Mandaviya said fertilizer subsidy could reach a record Rs 2.5 trillion in the current fiscal by March 31.
“Our priority is to get fertilizers and raw materials at affordable prices to ensure our food security and timely availability to our farmers,” he said.
He said government-to-government talks would help Indian firms finalize long-term deals for import of fertilizers and raw materials.
Mandaviya said, “We want to sign as many long-term deals as possible.
He further added: “Our aim is to cut the role of intermediaries and traders and go for spot buying only when they give us price advantage.”