India Caps Refinery Margins To Cushion Fuel Losses

14 Apr 2026 CW Team

OMCs fixed discounts on the refinery transfer price (RTP) to pay refineries less than import parity cost and lower internal transfer rates. For the second half of March a discount of Rs 22,342 per kilolitre (kl), or Rs 22.34 per litre, reduced diesel RTP from Rs 85,349 per kl to Rs 63,007 per kl. The discount mechanism is intended to reduce the import-parity component of pricing.

In the first fortnight of April a discount of Rs 60,239 per kl lowered diesel RTP from Rs 146,243 per kl to Rs 86,004 per kl. Aviation turbine fuel RTP fell to Rs 76,923 per kl from Rs 127,486 per kl after a discount of Rs 50,564 per kl, while kerosene RTP was set at Rs 77,534 per kl following a discount of Rs 46,311 per kl from Rs 123,845 per kl. These adjustments have sharply narrowed transfer rates for major auto fuels.

Petrol and diesel were historically priced on an import parity basis and refinery transfers used import parity pricing until June 2006. The government then adopted trade parity pricing, assigning 80 per cent weight to import parity and 20 per cent to export parity, a change that protected refinery margins, especially for standalone refiners without marketing arms.

Prices at the pump have been effectively frozen since April 2022 and marketing companies have absorbed losses when crude costs rose, creating under-recoveries. The ministry reported under-recoveries of Rs 24.40 per litre on petrol and Rs 104.99 per litre on diesel as on 01.04.2026, and sources said the discount on RTP will distribute the financial burden across the refining ecosystem while potentially hitting independent refiners hardest.

India has capped refinery margins and tightened transfer pricing after imposing a windfall levy on fuel exports to cushion losses on domestic petrol and diesel sales. The government imposed a Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on exports of diesel and aviation turbine fuel and capped refinery margins at 15 dollars per barrel, with earnings above that treated as a discount on fuel supplied to state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs). The measure is intended to transfer excess gains to offset retail under-recoveries. OMCs fixed discounts on the refinery transfer price (RTP) to pay refineries less than import parity cost and lower internal transfer rates. For the second half of March a discount of Rs 22,342 per kilolitre (kl), or Rs 22.34 per litre, reduced diesel RTP from Rs 85,349 per kl to Rs 63,007 per kl. The discount mechanism is intended to reduce the import-parity component of pricing. In the first fortnight of April a discount of Rs 60,239 per kl lowered diesel RTP from Rs 146,243 per kl to Rs 86,004 per kl. Aviation turbine fuel RTP fell to Rs 76,923 per kl from Rs 127,486 per kl after a discount of Rs 50,564 per kl, while kerosene RTP was set at Rs 77,534 per kl following a discount of Rs 46,311 per kl from Rs 123,845 per kl. These adjustments have sharply narrowed transfer rates for major auto fuels. Petrol and diesel were historically priced on an import parity basis and refinery transfers used import parity pricing until June 2006. The government then adopted trade parity pricing, assigning 80 per cent weight to import parity and 20 per cent to export parity, a change that protected refinery margins, especially for standalone refiners without marketing arms. Prices at the pump have been effectively frozen since April 2022 and marketing companies have absorbed losses when crude costs rose, creating under-recoveries. The ministry reported under-recoveries of Rs 24.40 per litre on petrol and Rs 104.99 per litre on diesel as on 01.04.2026, and sources said the discount on RTP will distribute the financial burden across the refining ecosystem while potentially hitting independent refiners hardest.

Technology

12 Jun 2026

LTTS Partners with Databricks to Advance Industrial AI

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) has entered a strategic partnership with Databricks to co-develop Industrial AI solutions for asset-intensive industries, including energy, petrochemicals, and manufacturing. The collaboration leverages LTTS’ engineering expertise across 600+ major plants with Databricks’ AI and analytics platform to convert operational data into actionable Engineering Intelligence.The partnership will deliver solutions spanning Predictive Asset Reliability, Energy & Emissions Optimisation, Overall Equipment Effectiveness, Production and Quality Intelligence, and Sust..

Infrastructure Urban

12 Jun 2026

Opptra Partners with Unicommerce to Scale AI-Driven E-Commerce

Opptra, the AI-native e-commerce distributor founded by Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, has partnered with Unicommerce to enhance operations across India, the GCC, and Southeast Asia. The collaboration integrates Opptra’s brand expansion expertise with Unicommerce’s AI-led Uniware platform, enabling centralised management of orders, inventory, and fulfilment across warehouses, stores, and sales channels.Opptra retains full commercial ownership of online brand operations, from marketplace strategy and pricing to fulfilment and customer service. Leveraging Unicommerce’s 350+ integrations..

Real Estate

12 Jun 2026

AHS Properties Acquires Shangri-La Hotel for AED 1.1 Billion

AHS Properties has acquired the Shangri-La Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road for AED 1.1 billion from Mismak Asset Management, marking one of the largest single-asset real estate deals in recent history. The 43-floor, 200-metre tower, completed in 2003, was among the first five-star hotels on the corridor.This acquisition complements AHS Tower and AHS City, forming a vertical corridor strategy that represents a substantial portion of the developer’s AED 50 billion year-end 2026 pipeline. Founder and CEO Abbas Sajwani described the purchase as a long-term investment in structurally constrained asset..