Abolish the regulation that distributors must have 100,000 gas cylinders
Many conditions for gas business, especially requirements on minimum business scale, have been abolished under the Decree recently issued by the Government.
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The Government has just issued Decree 87/2018/ND-CP on gas business, effective from August 1, 2018, replacing Decree No. 19/2016/ND-CP.
The most prominent point of this Decree is that it has simplified and abolished business conditions regarding minimum scale, regulations on ownership of facilities, regulations requiring the establishment of a distribution system; administrative procedures are still numerous and cumbersome.
According to Decree 19/2016, businesses wishing to participate in the liquefied gas business must meet conditions on business scale, making it difficult for small businesses to meet.
For example, an export and import trader must have a warehouse with a total capacity of at least 3,000 m3 of gas tanks and a number of gas cylinders with a total capacity of at least 3.93 million liters; a gas distributor must have tanks with a total capacity of at least 300 m3 and a number of cylinders with a total capacity of at least 2.62 million liters...
To meet these requirements, import-export traders must own at least 150,000 12-liter gas cylinders, distributors must have at least 100,000 cylinders...
Now such conditions have been abolished under Decree 87. Instead, the Decree emphasizes requirements on safety, fire prevention and fighting.
Specifically, the conditions for gas exporters and importers include: Being an enterprise established in accordance with the provisions of law; having a wharf or a contract to lease a wharf for at least 5 years in the Vietnamese port system that has been permitted for use by a competent authority; having a gas tank or a contract to lease a gas tank that meets safety regulations; meeting fire prevention and fighting conditions in accordance with the provisions of law; having an LPG cylinder or a contract to lease an LPG cylinder that meets the conditions for circulation on the market for LPG exporters and importers trading in bottled LPG.
Conditions for gas production and processing traders include: Being an enterprise established in accordance with the provisions of law; gas production and processing facilities approved by competent authorities for investment and construction; production lines, machinery and equipment have been inspected in accordance with regulations; having a gas quality testing room or having a minimum 1-year lease contract with a trader or organization with a testing room capable of testing indicators according to regulations in national technical regulations; meeting fire prevention and fighting conditions in accordance with the provisions of law.
The Decree clearly states that the conditions for gas traders include: Being a trader established in accordance with the provisions of law; having a gas tank that meets safety regulations or having an LPG cylinder that meets the conditions for circulation on the market or having a tank or LPG cylinder lease contract; meeting the conditions for fire prevention and fighting in accordance with the provisions of law.
Conditions for retail stores selling LPG cylinders are as follows: Being a trader established in accordance with the provisions of law; having a contract for at least 1 year selling LPG cylinders with a trader having a valid certificate of eligibility as prescribed in this Decree, except for stores affiliated with the trader; meeting the conditions on fire prevention and fighting as prescribed by law.
