VINACHEM

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Monday required petrol distributors and dealers not to revise the import tax on petrol and oil products until the end of this year.

The ministry announced in a legal document that the tax on petrol, diesel, mazut and kerosene would remain at 18 per cent, 14 per cent, 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

Ngo Huu Loi, General Director of the Taxation Department, said that the tax on petroleum had been stipulated by the Law on Import and Export Tax not to exceed 40 per cent.

The ministry had issued a tax frame for petroleum rates on January 19, 2010, when there were changes in the world petroleum prices.

The finance ministry said that the current import taxes on petrol and oil products were lower than the regulated amount.

Loi said that the import taxes on petrol and petroleum products are a tool for collecting funds for the budget and for regulating the market.

The non-revision of the import tax is considered to be a good way of preventing the smuggling of petrol to neighbouring countries, and of enabling the development of domestic petroleum plants and reducing dependence on imported petroleum products.

Viet Nam has to import 70 per cent of the petrol and petroleum products required to meet the domestic demand.

The retail price of petrol has been reduced thrice in August, amounting to a total cut of VND1,430 per litre, to stand at VND24,210 (US$1.15) per litre.