India grants RIC exemption on fuel exports to Maldives

India has exempted the Maldives from Road and Infrastructure Cess (RIC) levied on exports of petrol and diesel exported by Indian public sector companies.

The tax exemption was announced by India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on Tuesday, and took immediate effect.

According to the notification, both Maldives and Mauritius have been added to the list of eligible export destinations for RIC exemption on Indian fuel.

The exemption was previously offered only to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

While the tax exemption is expected to reduce the price of fuel imported into the Maldives from India, the island destination’s fuel imports come primarily from Oman, followed by Malaysia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The decision follows negotiations between Maldivian and Indian government officials, as global fuel prices remain elevated since the US-Israeli war on Iran broke out in February.