India extends tax holiday for natural gas production

New Delhi: In a bid to give a fillip to the current round of auction of hydrocarbon assets, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday extended the tax exemption on profits in the natural gas sector.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been seeking tax holiday to the natural gas sector since 2008, when the 2008 auction deadline had been postponed many times due to confusion over this issue.

The government now expects that the tax exemption will trigger interest in the 2009 round of auction of 70 hydrocarbon exploration blocks. The closing date for submissions of bids is August 10.