The Vietnamese government announced an urgent measure to temporarily suspend the collection of environmental tax on fuel, causing gasoline prices to immediately drop by more than 25% to tackle the global energy crisis triggered by the Middle East war that disrupted supply.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Commerce stated that the government decided to suspend the environmental protection tax on gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel by reducing the tax rate to 0%, effective from today (27 March) until 15 April.
The Ministry of Commerce said, "This is the most urgent and effective solution to stabilize the oil market and ensure national energy security amid escalating conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz, which is becoming the largest energy bottleneck ever."
Ministry data indicates that this measure will lead to a gasoline price drop of about 26% and a diesel price decrease of over 15%, following the sharp surge in fuel prices earlier this week.
Starting this Friday, retail fuel prices in Vietnam will change as follows: Octane 95 gasoline will drop to 24,332 dong (approximately 30.34 baht) per liter from the previous 32,957 dong, while diesel will decrease to 35,440 dong per liter (around 44.19 baht).
Earlier on Wednesday, the Vietnamese government had to adjust fuel prices twice in one day to try to stabilize the situation after diesel prices more than doubled since the Middle East conflict erupted at the end of last month.
This crisis arose after Iran ordered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial energy transport route, causing global oil prices to continuously rise and raising worldwide concerns about energy shortages.
/AFP