The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just completed a draft Decree on petroleum business and sent it to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal. In this third draft, the notable point is that the Ministry of Industry and Trade no longer regulates the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund . A notable point in the draft is that the Ministry of Industry and Trade no longer regulates the gasoline price stabilization fund.
The draft only states the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance to guide key petroleum traders to transfer and pay the balance of the stabilization fund to the state budget.
With such a regulation, many people understand that the drafting agency is proposing to abolish the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund. The current fund balance will be paid into the State budget.
However, talking to Labor, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hien - Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that the Petroleum Stabilization Fund still exists. According to the draft Decree mentioned above, the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund will be implemented according to the provisions of the Price Law 2023.
The Price Law stipulates that there are 5 stabilization measures, of which the 5th measure is to use the Stabilization Fund for goods for which the fund has been established.
Ministries and branches develop price stabilization plans and send them to the Ministry of Finance to synthesize and submit to the Government for approval in terms of policy. After having the policy, ministries and branches organize implementation. This fund is not used regularly, the stabilization measure is for a limited time. The deduction or expenditure of this fund must comply with the Price Law.
Talking to Labor on July 14, economic expert Vu Vinh Phu - former Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said that the regulation on the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund as drafted is no different from abolishing the Stabilization Fund. The fund's role is also blurred, no longer effective in stabilizing the market. Therefore, it is not necessary to maintain the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund.
According to Mr. Vu Vinh Phu, during the implementation process, the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund revealed more shortcomings than its effect in stabilizing the market. When world petroleum prices suddenly increase with large amplitudes, the fund becomes negative.
On the other hand, the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund is kept at key petroleum businesses, so there have been many times when the fund has been taken advantage of by businesses, used for wrong purposes, and even violated the law.
The fund also carries out cross-subsidization between gasoline and oil at certain periods. That is unacceptable. A specific example of spending the Gasoline Price Stabilization Fund to reduce gasoline prices is that in the first quarter of 2024, there was a time when retail gasoline prices continuously increased, from below 22,000 VND to above 25,000 VND/year. liter. At this time, the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund is still very large, nearly 7,000 billion VND, but it is not used to stabilize prices and control the increase in gasoline prices.
"From the shortcomings mentioned above in the setting up and use of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund - we see that it is time to abandon this fund. When abolishing the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund (people's money), there must be a Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund. stabilized in kind (gasoline) as a replacement.
Therefore, the in-kind stabilization fund must be large enough to reserve for the country for 3-6 months, only then will it be enough to stabilize the market when necessary. This fund must be accounted for, rotated, bought low and sold high like a State capital management company," Mr. Phu affirmed.
