Petrol with 22%-30% ethanol blend exempted from central excise duty

The Union government on Wednesday extended its central excise duty exemption to petrol that is blended with 22% to 30% ethanol.

The Bureau of Indian Standards had in May notified fuel norms for higher ethanol-blended petrol containing 22%, 25%, 27% and 30% ethyl alcohol by volume. The variants are not yet available commercially.

The government’s Ethanol Blending Programme currently mandates the sale of petrol blended with 20% ethanol, or E20 fuel.

India hit its target of reaching a 20% ethanol mix in petrol in July 2025, five years ahead of schedule.

This was part of India’s broader energy transition strategy aimed at reducing dependency on fossil fuels, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting income for sugarcane farmers.

Consumers have complained that the new fuel mix damages engines and reduces their mileage.

A report in October, which analysed government and industry data, said that only about 20% of new petrol vehicles sold in India in the last 15 years were compliant with the E20 fuel blend.

On December 11, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament that the government had tested older vehicles running fuel blended with 20% ethanol and found no case of engine failure.

The vehicles covered almost 1 lakh km in the tests conducted by the government-run Automotive Research Association of India, the road transport minister said.

Gadkari added that the research association had observed “no impact” of E20...

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