No windfall tax on oil and gas companies now

The Indian government will not impose a windfall tax on oil and gas companies after passing a new law. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri announced this on Wednesday. The new law, known as the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, aims to support the exploration sector. The bill passed in the Lok Sabha last week seeks to provide policy stability and longer leases for oil and gas companies. Puri said this change is intended to boost investor confidence, which has been affected by past tax issues. The new law will allow the petroleum and natural gas ministry to create regulations in consultation with the industry. This follows previous challenges that companies faced with retrospective and windfall taxes, which discouraged investment. Notably, Capricorn Energy had a lengthy legal battle over retrospective taxes, and companies faced backlash when windfall taxes were imposed in 2022. The government hopes that the new law will improve conditions for the oil and gas sector.