Indian oil majors to go to court over alleged excise tax bills for ethanol

In India, the Business Standard newspaper reports that the Indian Oil Company and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation are headed to court, saying ethanol is exempt from excise tax and therefore shouldn’t have to pay the combined $625 million tax bill for complying with the national ethanol mandate. The companies say they haven’t been collecting excise tax from drivers and therefore shouldn’t have to pay an excise tax on an untaxed fuel. IOC is one of the largest taxpayers in the country.