One of the outstanding contents of Circular 18/2025/TT-BCT issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 13, 2025 is the addition of regulations on reporting on the use of gas stations applicable to gasoline traders and gasoline distributors who own gas stations for lease and lease-purchase; assign responsibility to state management of the use of stations.
For traders who are petroleum traders, petroleum distributors with petroleum warehouses owned by other petroleum traders for lease are responsible for reporting quarterly on the situation of warehouse use and lease according to the issued form to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Department of Industry and Trade at the warehouse lenders before the 10th of the first month of the following period.
The information that needs to be reported includes the name and address of the warehouse; total warehouse capacity; Name, address of the merchant renting the warehouse, tank, lease capacity, and petroleum output through the warehouse during the reporting period.
For petroleum traders and petroleum distributors who rent warehouses to serve petroleum business activities are responsible for reporting quarterly on the situation of using the rented warehouse according to the issued Form to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Department of Industry and Trade at the location where the trader rents the warehouse before the 10th of the first month of the following period.
The information that needs to be reported includes: rental warehouse address; Name, owner of the warehouse for rent, tank, rental capacity; total petroleum output through the warehouse in the reporting period.
According to this Circular, the Department of Industry and Trade of provinces and centrally run cities will inspect and supervise the implementation of warehouse lease contracts, petroleum output imported and exported through warehouses of petroleum traders renting warehouses in the area. At the same time, in case the trader is found to have signs of not using the warehouse for rent according to the signed contract, promptly report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for coordination in management.
The Circular also stipulates the right for retail agents of petroleum when signing a contract as retail agents of petroleum. In case the trader signs a dealer contract with two or three traders who are petroleum traders or petroleum distributors, the trader prepares a report on changes and supplements to the dealer contract and sends it to the competent authority to request the issuance of additional and amended Confirmation papers and Certificates as prescribed in Point b, Clause 4, Article 20, Point b, Clause 2, Article 25 of Decree No. 83/2014/ND-CP to amend and supplement information about the petroleum supplier in the Certificate of eligibility to be a petroleum retail agent and the Certificate of the store eligibility to retail petroleum.
In case the trader has only one retail store of petroleum to sign a petroleum agency contract with two or three traders who are petroleum trading unit traders or petroleum distribution traders, the trader must prepare a dossier requesting to issue additional and amended Certificates according to the provisions of Point b, Clause 2, Article 25 of Decree No. 83/2014/ND-CP to amend and supplement information about the petroleum supplier in the Certificate of the store eligible for retail petroleum.
Circular 18/2025/TT-BCT also supplements regulations on the mechanism for managing gasoline prices, specifically: Based on data on factors that make up gasoline prices according to regulations and opinions participating in managing gasoline prices of the Ministry of Finance in writing, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announces the basic price and the selling price of gasoline.
The Circular also amends and supplements regulations on inspection and issuance of Certificates and Certificates. In particular, remove regulations on inspection and issuance of Certificates of eligibility to act as a general agent for petroleum trading: According to the provisions of Point a, Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree 80/2023/ND-CP, traders who have been granted a Certificate of eligibility to act as a general agent for petroleum trading can continue to operate until the Certificate of eligibility to act as a general agent for petroleum trading expires.
Thus, for general dealers in petroleum business whose Certificates are still valid, during the operation, they do not carry out newly issued administrative procedures and only retain the procedures for amending, supplementing and reissuing Certificates of eligibility to be general dealers in petroleum business.
In order to meet the requirements of state management on registration, allocation, and adjustment of the minimum limit of total petroleum resources for petroleum trading units in a specific, clear, fair, and feasible direction according to the Conclusion of the Government Inspectorate, the Circular has been reviewed and supplemented on the requirements for registration, allocation, and adjustment of total resources, and at the same time, supplemented the regulation that petroleum trading units must ensure the progress of importing or purchasing domestic petroleum according to regulations.
In case necessary, in order to ensure the supply of gasoline for the domestic market, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the progress of importing and purchasing gasoline domestically or adjust the total minimum gasoline source for traders to implement.
This Circular has abolished the regulation on the Interdisciplinary Group for Petroleum Price Management stipulated in Joint Circular No. 39/2014/TTLT-BCT-BTC regulating the method of calculating the basic price; mechanism for forming, managing and using the Price Stabilization and Petroleum Price Management Fund according to the provisions of Decree No. 83/2014/ND-CP dated September 3, 2014 of the Government on petroleum trading.
