HANOI: Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has cut import tariffs on gasoil and fuel oil in a bid to support sales from the country’s sole 130,000 b/d Dung Quat refinery, a PetroVietnam official said Tuesday, May 5.
The taxes were cut to 12% from 20% for gasoil and to 13% from 25% for fuel oil effective Monday, while the duties for gasoline and kerosene remain unchanged at 20% and for jet fuel at 10%, the ministry said in a statement late Monday.
The move is aimed at supporting sales of Dung Quat’s output, particularly gasoil, the PetroVietnam official said.It is possible the government will slash the tariff on gasoil further to around 5% in June, he added.Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical, the operator of Dung Quat, in April urged oil importers in Vietnam to consider buying oil products, especially gasoil, from its refinery.
It expressed concern that the import tax rates imposed on the refinery’s output were much higher than those set by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, or ATIGA, “jeopardizing” spot sales.Under ATIGA, the import tariff on gasoline from ASEAN nations is currently at 20%, and at 5% for diesel, kerosene and fuel oil.
Prior to Monday’s tax cut, oil products from the Dung Quat refinery were subject to the higher import tax rates levied on products from countries that Vietnam does not have free trade agreements with.
Vietnam consumes about 7 million cubic meters/year of gasoil, while Dung Quat produces about 3.5 million-4 million cu m/year, BSR said in March.The country imported 1.463 million mt of gasoil over January 1-April 15, up 11.1% year on year, latest customs data showed.
