The Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently introduced a draft decree on petrol and oil trading to replace Decree No. 84/2009/ND-CP with many revisions aiming to ensure marketability, publicity and transparency as well as consumer interests.
One of the most notable revisions is the amplitude of petrol and oil retail prices. In case the base price goes down by up to two percent, traders must reduce retail prices correspondingly.
If the base price goes up by up to two percent, traders may decide to raise retail prices by themselves without having to seek approval from state management agencies. However, they would be required to inform the new prices to competent agencies.
In case the base price rises between over two and seven percent, traders would send price declaration and adjustment plans to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance for consideration at least two days prior to the expected date of price adjustment.
The two percent margin for price adjustment is appropriate, said Trinh Quang Khanh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association. He explained that petrol prices currently fluctuate around VND 25,000 per liter, the application of two percent margin in price adjustment would make the retail prices only go up and down by no more than VND 5,000 per liter, which are more acceptable to consumers.
The draft also permits calculating the base price based on the average global fuel prices in 15 days, instead of 30 days as currently.
Under the draft, the Ministry of Industry and Trade would take the main charge for administering petrol and oil prices as well as for appropriating and using the petrol and oil price valorization fund while the Ministry of Finance would take responsibility for supervising price increase decisions by traders.-
