Ministry trims import taxes on petrol, oil

December 24, 2010 | 17:00

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Import taxes on petrol and oil products would be cut from the start of next year to help dealers overcome trading difficulties, said the Ministry of Finance.

The new rate would fall from 12 to 6 per cent for petrol products and from 5 to 2 per cent for kerosene and diesel oil.

The measure is aimed at reducing domestic trading losses, following a government's decision to stabilise the price of petrol and oil products by the end of the first quarter of next year, said the ministry.

Petrol and oil dealers are currently operating at a loss, losing VND2,400 per litre of petrol and VND1,850-1,900 per litre of oil, due to an increase in the world oil price.

The tax cut was the latest measure the government had taken to stabilise the domestic market with the continued increase of the world oil price, said Nguyen Tien Thoa, head of the Ministry of Finance's Price Control Department.

The government had earlier granted dealers VND1,200 per litre of petrol from the price stabilisation fund to discourage them from increasing prices, he said. The dealers contributed VND3.6 trillion ($170 million) to the fund by July 30, 2010, and received VND1.05 trillion ($50 million) for their losses.

A litre of petrol in Vietnam costs VND16,400-16,900, a litre of diesel costs VND14,750 while a litre of kerosene is VND15,100 and fuel oil costs VND12,990 per litre.

VNS

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