Prime Minister requests recalculation of taxes and fees on gasoline

The Government Office has just issued a document conveying the direction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, requesting the Ministry of Industry and Trade - Ministry of Finance to report on the domestic price situation of gasoline and oil.

Accordingly, the Prime Minister requested the joint ministriesCoordinate with relevant ministries and branches to review and synthesize reports on recent fluctuations in gasoline prices. The petroleum management agency is also requested to calculate the price difference between gasoline products, assess the causes; tax and fee policies and the operation of the Price Stabilization Fund.

"Based on the results of the review and assessment, the inter-ministerial committee needs to propose appropriate directions and solutions and report to the Prime Minister in January 2018," the document conveying the Prime Minister's opinion stated.

The Prime Minister requested the joint ministries to report on fluctuations in gasoline prices on the market.

In the most recent management session on January 19, the Ministry of Industry and Trade - Ministry of Finance decided to increase the retail price of E5 RON 92 gasoline by 429 VND per liter, while oil products also increased by 148 - 430 VND per liter, kg depending on the type. However, RON 95 gasoline continues to be "floating" by the operator, not yet included in the base price calculation for management.

Along with the increase in biofuel prices, key petroleum trading enterprises increased the price of RON 95 gasoline by 290 VND per liter - the remaining mineral gasoline product on the market after RON 92 gasoline was "discontinued" from January 1, 2018. After the price increase, each liter of E5 RON92 gasoline is 1,710 - 1,910 VND per liter lower than RON 95.

Faced with suspicions that the Ministry of Industry and Trade "quietly" let businesses decide the price of RON 95 gasoline and did not update the base price of this type of gasoline in the management document, a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade affirmed that they did not intentionally "forget" this item.

According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - Director of Price Management Department, member of the Joint Price Management Monitoring Team of the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade, the main reason is that the price of E5 RON 92 gasoline is being spent using the Price Stabilization Fund at 857 VND per liter (from January 4 to present), while the price of RON 95 gasoline is regulated according to the market, does not use the price stabilization fund and is adjusted up according to world prices.

However, the price of RON 95 gasoline in Vietnam is still calculated to be lower than that of some countries such as Thailand, India, Cambodia, and the Philippines by about 3,000 - 5,000 VND per liter.

Mr. Tuan also said that through quick statistics, the current consumption of E5 RON92 gasoline accounts for about 60% of the total gasoline consumption, contributing to creating a clean green environment and creating stable output for agricultural products.

Currently, the Joint Ministry continues to monitor the consumption situation, supply and demand of RON95 gasoline according to emission standards, and E5 RON92 gasoline on the market to announce base prices in accordance with the domestic petroleum business situation.

Directing this, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue requested the joint ministries to calculate the base price of this item to put it into operation in the first quarter of 2018.