Vietnam Mulls over 5 per cent Petrol Import Tax upon Global Oil Tumble
The Vietnamese government has recently approved in principle a plan by the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Finance to raise import tax on petroleum products to 5 per cent from current zero if the world oil price falls below US$110 per barrel, Tran Xuan Ha, Deputy Minister of Finance said in a recent interview.
If the global oil market experiences a stronger tumble than the aforementioned level, the Vietnamese government may reduce domestic petroleum retail prices, the Vietnam & World Economy newspaper quoted Mr. Ha as saying.
Vietnam will apply domestic petrol price hike if the world rate rises, the official elaborated.
Ha attributed the recent slight fall in the local petrol retail price to the huge compensation faced by the Vietnamese government that is estimated at VND3 trillion (US$181.81 million) for gasoline sales, and VND14 trillion (US$848.48 million) for oil trading in the first seven months of this year.
The Vietnamese government cut down on prices of only gasoline and kerosene except for diesel and mazut oil as local traders are having losses from trading of the two former goods, Ha noted.
Vietnamese petrol traders are estimated to make profits of between VND2,000 and VND2,400 (US$0.12-US$0.14)/liter of gasoline and kerosene of the global oil price fluctuates at between US$115 and US$120/barrel, the official added.
The Vietnamese government has decided to slash domestic A92 gasoline retail price by VND1,000 per liter or 5.55 per cent to VND17,000 per liter, the second time within August, due to the fall in the global oil price and local consumption.
Petroleum traders are allowed to decide selling prices of gasoline A90 and A95 but the reduction should be minimal VND500 per liter. (Vietnam & World Economy)
Vietnamese
