The Ministry of Industry and Trade has granted permission for importing at least 8.18 million tonnes of oil and petrol products this year to 19 petroleum trading companies.
Specifically, the Viet Nam National Petroleum Corp (Petrolimex) received the largest import quota at 4.022 million tonnes against 4.396 million tonnes last year. It was followed by the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), which received approval for importing 930,000 tonnes, up from 591,000 tonnes last year.
Meanwhile, SaigonPetro and Thanh Le Co have been allocated an import quota of 493,000 tonnes and 540,000 tonnes, respectively.
Under the current regulations, petroleum importers will not be allowed to import below the assigned levels in order to meet anticipated domestic demand.
Viet Nam imported an estimated 8.43 million tonnes of petrol and other oil products last year, up 14.5 per cent from the previous year.
The Ministry of Finance recently raised tariff caps on the imports of fuel, petrol and diesel products. Import taxes imposed on petrol products will range from 20 per cent to as high as 40 per cent, up from an earlier maximum taxation of 30 per cent.
Diesel and mazut (a type of fuel oil) imports will have to bear taxes of between 15 per cent and 40 per cent, also an increase from the 25 per cent limit fixed earlier. — VNS
