DoE: 10% import duty to raise oil prices to P1.60/L

THE additional 10- percent import duty on petroleum products that is expected to be added to pump prices by the third week of June would amount to P1.50 to P1.60 per liter, the Department of Energy (DoE) said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Energy department said that despite the imposition of higher tariffs, prices of such products remained low.

“Cumulative rollbacks from January 2020 to date stand at P6.72 per liter for gasoline, P9.99 per liter for diesel and P13.69 per liter for kerosene,” it added.

The statement comes after President Rodrigo Duterte signed on May 2 Executive Order (EO) 113. This directive temporarily imposed the additional tax to help augment government funding in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Under EO 113, higher additional tariffs would immediately revert to 0 percent after the DoE has certified that a trigger price has been reached — when Dubai crude reaches $ 64 per barrel — or when Republic Act 11469, or the “Bayanihan to

Heal as One Act,” ceases to be in effect, whichever comes first.

But the department said the additional tax was projected to be reflected in price adjustments only after oil companies have exhausted existing inventories bought before the issuance of EO 113.

“Projections based on their inventory reports indicated that the added costs might be included beginning the third week of June ( June 14 to 20, 2020),” it added.

So far, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. has reported that 644 of their liquid fuel retail outlets have implemented the tariff adjustment on diesel products only, with this week’s adjustments generally reflecting upward developments in the global oil markets.

Nonetheless, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi directed the DoE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau to ensure the order’s proper implementation.

Earlier, the Department of Finance said the government has so far collected P1.21 billion in additional revenue since the effectivity of EO 113 in May.