NEW DELHI: The government has waived excise duty on variants of ethanol-blended petrol, a notification by the finance ministry said.

The duty waiver is applicable on E22, E25, E27 and E30 variants of petrol.

In the notification, the ministry said excise duty will be 'nil' on petrol with 22 per cent, 25 per cent, 27 per cent and 30 per cent ethanol blend.

The excise duty waiver is aimed encouraging customers to move towards ethanol-blended petrol.

The move come against the backdrop of petrol and diesel prices rising by nearly Rs 7.50 a litre in the second half of May.

The government had in March cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10/litre, foregoing over Rs 1 lakh crore of annual revenue. This was aimed at shielding domestic customers from the surge in global crude oil prices amid the West Asia war.