« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  March 15 is deadline for last advance tax installment: Know if you must pay   5 small savings options that save tax under Section 80C  ITR filing 2025: How often can Indian taxpayers switch between new and old income tax regimes?  Tax planning for 2025: How to maximise your savings before March 31 deadline  New income tax bill reaches Parliament: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tables I-T Bill 2025 in Lok Sabha «  Corporates can now file IT, FBT returns by Nov 30... NRI investors will soon need PAN... » Govt might give tax benefits on bio fuels October, 25th 2006 The Government is mulling giving tax incentives like excise and import duty exemption to promote the use of biodiesel and ethanol in auto fuels so as to cut down country's import dependence to meet its fuel needs. The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, now re-christened as Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in the draft National Policy on Biofuels has suggested a slew of fiscal incentives and a National Biofuel Development Board headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to promote doping of petrol with ethanol and diesel with non-edible oil. Official sources said the ministry's draft note for the Cabinet proposes excise duty exemption to biofuels in pure as well as blended form up to a certain percentage with a view to lowering price of the biofuel for the end user. It also proposed custom and excise duty exemption to plant and machinery used for processing oil seeds for biofuel production. Besides, excise duty exemption to biodiesel blended with duty-paid diesel, similar to the concessions given for ethanol blended petrol made by mixing duty paid petrol, is proposed to be provided. Sources said the draft policy also proposed setting up of a National Biofuel Development Board to fix Minimum Support Price (MSP) for non-edible vegetable oil seeds required for conversion to biodiesel and other biofuels such as ethanol. NBDB, which is proposed to be headed by Prime Minister, would also prepare a National Road Map on bio-fuel in petrol and diesel engines in a time-bound manner.