Hai Ha Water and Land Transport Company Limited has not yet paid its debt of approximately 612 billion VND to the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund and the late payment penalty interest to the state budget.
On February 23, the Ministry of Industry and Trade urged Hai Ha Company (Hai Ha Petro) to pay the aforementioned amount to the state budget after more than a month of no response from the company, but the agency did not give a deadline. The Ministry stated that the urging was based on coordination and that the Ministry of Finance had urged the company to pay, but it had not yet done so.
Earlier, in mid-January, the Ministry of Industry and Trade revoked Hai Ha Petro's import and export license for petroleum products and demanded that the company immediately pay its outstanding debt to the Price Stabilization Fund into the state budget.
According to Decree 95 on petroleum business, the Price Stabilization Fund is established within enterprises when the Ministry of Industry and Trade grants business licenses to key enterprises. However, this leads to the risk of enterprises misappropriating the fund, according to the conclusions of the Government Inspectorate in January.
Hai Ha Petro is one of three key enterprises that misused the price stabilization fund, failing to transfer funds to the fund's account and instead leaving them in the company's payment account. As of the end of November 2023, Hai Ha Petro owed 612 billion VND to the fuel price stabilization fund. The company also underreported and owed thousands of billions of VND in environmental protection taxes.
A Hai Ha Petro store in Ha Dong district (Hanoi) displays a "out of gas" sign, following the revocation of the company's license on January 12th. Photo: Anh Minh
Thus far, the two companies whose licenses were revoked, Xuyen Viet Oil and Hai Ha Petro, have not yet repaid the outstanding amount owed to the Price Stabilization Fund, including late payment interest, to the state budget. Previously, customs authorities had stopped these two companies from clearing petroleum products.
In a document sent to Hai Ha Petro, the Ministry of Industry and Trade cited regulations stating that the Ministry of Finance is the lead agency responsible for guiding, inspecting, and supervising petroleum distributors in establishing, spending, and managing the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund. This Ministry is also responsible for inspecting and controlling the source of contributions, as well as ensuring compliance with regulations on collection and payment, and handling violations related to taxes, fees, and other revenues within its authority.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance stated that it has measures in place to enforce the recovery of misappropriated funds from businesses, but since the case is under investigation, it needs to coordinate and await a ruling from the police.
Hai Ha Company is one of 36 petroleum distribution companies (excluding aviation fuel distributors) headquartered in Diem Dien town, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province. Before its license was revoked, the company had a network of dealers and gas stations in many northern provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, and Thai Binh.
At the end of January, Ms. Tran Tuyet Mai, Chairwoman of Hai Ha Company, and her subordinates were arrested for violations including misuse of the Price Stabilization Fund, failure to declare and pay environmental protection tax, causing serious losses and consequences.
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