New Delhi, March 28 -- The government on Friday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.10 per litre each and imposed levies on diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) exports, in a dual measure aimed at easing the financial strain on state-run oil retailers and ensuring adequate domestic stocks - though consumers will see no reduction in pump prices, with the duty relief instead being used to partially offset the heavy losses oil companies are absorbing to hold retail rates steady. The cut in special additional excise duty on petrol from Rs.13 a litre to Rs.3 and diesel, from Rs.10 per litre to 0, will lead to an estimated revenue loss of Rs.1.70 lakh crore if it lasts the full financial year. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the reduction in special additional excise duty (SAED) in a post on X, saying the move "will provide protection to consumers from rise in prices." State-run retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL have kept petrol at Rs.94.77 a litre and diesel at Rs.87.67 in Delhi since March 15, 2024. In addition to the levies on export of diesel and jet fuel, the government said all refiners have been directed to divert 50% of exported petrol and 30% of exported diesel to the domestic market. The petroleum ministry's statement put under-recoveries - notional revenue losses on every litre sold below cost benchmarked with international rates - at approximately Rs.26 per litre on petrol and Rs.81.90 per litre on diesel at current product prices. Benchmark Brent crude closed at $108.01 a barrel on Thursday, up approximately 48% from $72.87 before the conflict began on February 28, and was trading at $110.40 on Friday afternoon. India's monthly average crude oil import price, popularly known as the Indian basket, surged to $111.93 a barrel on the 27th day as compared to $69.01 in the previous month, registering a surge of 62.2%. Benchmark petrol jumped 70% at $127.67 this month compared to February and diesel spiked 108% to $178.76 a barrel, according to PPAC data. Petroleum minister Hardeep Puri said in his X post that crude had risen from around $70 to around $122 a barrel in the past month, and that petrol and diesel prices for consumers had risen 30-50% in Southeast Asian countries, 30% in North America, 20% in Europe and 50% in Africa. To be sure, the three state-run OMCs had accumulated significant net profits in the nine months preceding the conflict, when international crude prices were considerably lower than current levels even as pump prices remained unchanged since March 2024....