January 8, 2019 | 12:02
am
THE Department of Energy (DoE) said on Monday a
total of 268 retail stations of Petron Corp. had already imposed the excise and
value-added taxes (VAT) under the second tranche of the tax reform law, while
32 Flying V stations implemented the higher tax.
In a press conference
on Monday, DoE Undersecretary William Felix B. Fuentebella said out of Petron’s
8,630 stations, 268 had reported to the department that they had implemented
the taxes as called for under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion
(TRAIN).
“Consumers have the
power of choice,” he said, calling on fuel users to report to the DoE any fuel
retailers that imposed the taxes without the required notices.
Mr. Fuentebella also
said the DoE will check the stations whether these complied with the required
tarpaulin notice disclosing the petroleum products that already carry the
taxes.
Under the second
tranche of TRAIN, an additional excise tax of P2 will be imposed per liter of
diesel and gasoline, and P1 per kilogram on household liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG).
An additional 12% VAT
will also be imposed, which totals to P2.24 for both diesel and gasoline, and
P1.12 for LPG. The imposition of the taxes took effect on Jan. 1, 2019.
The higher taxes have
already been imposed by a number of Petron and Flying V retail stations in
Metro Manila.
However, the DoE said
it expected petroleum supply from 2018 to last by at least 15 days from the
start of the year for importers, and at least 30 days for refiners. But it said
inspectors would also take into consideration the storage capacity and the
turnover in each retail stations.
“We will ensure the
fuel stocks for 2018 will be utilized first and sold at the pre-implementation
prices,” said DoE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi in a statement on Monday.
DoE officials pointed
out that the increase in pump prices resulting from the imposition of the
second tranche of fuel excise tax would still be smaller.
“This is due to the
offsetting effect of the rollbacks implemented in 2018 and January 2019,” the
DoE said.
While there is an
uptick in the price of oil in the world market, Mr. Cusi said industry
forecasts did not see crude oil prices hitting record high prices, such as in
October 2018 when Brent crude oil price breached the $80-per-barrel level.
“If the trend
continues, we do not expect it to have as much impact on fuel prices as it did
last year. Besides, we can cushion the effect of any new oil price increases by
becoming more efficient in our use of energy,” he said. — Victor V. Saulon
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