Petrol, gas price audit out next week

November 18, 2011 | 14:39

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The results of an audit on petrol and gas prices at fuel dealers will be released next week, said Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue on the sidelines of the National Assembly meeting in Hanoi .

>> Petrol pricing practices set to be inspected

>> Petrolimex defends itself from profiteering claims

The National Auditing Office has focused on auditing the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation this time as the firm holds the largest market share of the domestic petrol and gas market, he told local newspapers.

The office has also audited petrol and gas trading activities at nine other dealers as well as use of the petrol price stabilisation fund, he said.

They included PV Oil, Petec, Ho Chi Minh City Petroleum Ltd Company, Dong Thap Petroleum Trading Company, Aviation Petroleum Ltd Company, Mipeco, Mekong Petroleum Company, Seaway Petroleum and Trading Company and Thanh Le Trading and Import-Export Corporation.

In September, the Ministry of Finance established teams to audit prices set by these distributors between January 1 and September 15, 2011, relative to their expenses and trading volumes after the petrol dealers complained about huge losses.

Bui Ngoc Bao, general director of Petrolimex – which accounts for 60 per cent of the total domestic market – said his corporation had suffered a loss of VND1.8 trillion ($86.5 million) in the first nine months of the year.

Hue questioned this claim, however.

Even though petrol prices were reduced by VND500 per litre on August 26, petrol distributors are still enjoying a profit margin of VND780 per litre, according to computations by the General Department of Customs.

This is in addition to the fixed profit of VND300 allowed by the government.

During the audit of petrol and oil prices, the ministry also took a close look at disbursements from the petrol price stabilisation fund as of mid-September and production and business results for those firms as of mid-September.