Specifically, regarding letting petroleum enterprises decide on their own prices and maintaining the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund after many loopholes were pointed out, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hien - Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department, said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other ministries are building a new draft in the direction of moving closer to the market mechanism.

Regarding the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund, Ms. Hien admitted that many shortcomings have been revealed in the past. The drafting agency will seek opinions to propose a suitable mechanism based on the principle of ensuring compliance with the Law on Prices and related legal regulations.

Regarding the opinions on whether or not to abolish the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund, Mr. Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade - said that the ministry will continue to collect opinions to make appropriate proposals.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just submitted to the Government a draft of a new decree on petroleum. Photo: Nguyen Hue

Regarding the shortcomings in fund disbursement, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said that the fund allocation and disbursement are carried out according to Circular 103 of the Ministry of Finance . In fact, regarding the shortcomings, the drafting committee will discuss further some surrounding issues and will give opinions after the consultation period.

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has submitted to the Government a draft of a new decree on gasoline, replacing previous decrees. In it, the Ministry proposes to let businesses decide on gasoline prices themselves.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade explained that gasoline is a commodity subject to price stabilization under the provisions of the Law on Prices, so there needs to be a mechanism to control the ceiling price of gasoline sold in the retail market.

However, to create a competitive environment among businesses, the draft regulation stipulates that the State will not participate in the price management process, but will publish price formation factors so that businesses can decide their own prices.

The drafting agency proposed that the State would announce the average world price every 15 days, and key traders would base on fixed factors such as various taxes and be entitled to add additional prescribed standard costs to announce the selling price of gasoline on the market.

The selling price of gasoline will be announced by the main trader but must not exceed the maximum price calculated according to the formula.

Two ministries continuously demanded, Xuyen Viet Oil still has not paid more than 200 billion to the Price Stabilization Fund . Xuyen Viet Oil still owes the gasoline price stabilization fund 212 billion VND, while the leader of this enterprise has been arrested.