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VAT refund on fuel imports to continue

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-16 16:15

China will extend value-added tax (VAT) refunds on purchases of imported fuel by state refiners through the third quarter to September, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a source familiar with the situation.

Maintaining the VAT rebate aims to ensure supplies of gasoline and diesel during the Olympic Games in Beijing, which begin on August 8, Xinhua said.

The Chinese government agreed to refund 75 percent of the 17 percent VAT levied on monthly crude oil and fuel imports during the second quarter to help offset state refiners' losses due to controls on retail fuel prices.

Asia's largest refiner, Sinopec Group, parent of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec), received 2.51 billion yuan ($368 million) in VAT rebates on gasoline and diesel imports during the second quarter, Xinhua reported earlier.

As pressure on refiners from rising crude oil prices continued to mount, the government decreed 16 to 18 percent hike in fuel prices on June 20.

But even with subsidies and after the fuel price hike, Sinopec says it is still losing 900 yuan for every ton of oil it refines.