A representative of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the 2023 Price Law stipulates five price stabilization measures, of which the fifth measure is to use the Price Stabilization Fund for goods for which the Fund has been established.
At the same time, the Stabilization Fund will not be used regularly. When gasoline prices fluctuate abnormally, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to develop stabilization measures and send them to the Ministry of Finance for synthesis and submission to the Government for consideration and decision on implementation policies.
According to the Domestic Market Department, the draft stipulates that the Ministry of Finance will guide key petroleum traders to transfer and pay the balance of the stabilization fund to the state budget.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Do, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance (Academy of Finance), assessed that bringing the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund under one central authority will help centralize management and if there is any loss of responsibility, it will be clarified.
However, even though the State management agency holds the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund, it still needs a monitoring mechanism to ensure transparency and publicity, avoiding loss and misappropriation of people's money.
Commenting on the above content, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed to clarify the position, functions, tasks, powers, and operating mechanism of the Fund; clearly define the state management function of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund in accordance with the functions, tasks, and powers of the Ministries and branches to submit to the Government for consideration and decision.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security pointed out that in recent times, the State management and use of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund still have many loopholes and inadequacies, allowing some key petroleum traders to misappropriate and misuse the fund; some functional agencies and public opinion of petroleum businesses have opposing opinions on the necessity of maintaining the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund.
Therefore, the Ministry of Public Security requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to carefully assess the role and effect of the Price Stabilization Fund in achieving the goal of stabilizing domestic gasoline prices in the face of sudden price fluctuations in the world gasoline market; and the conformity of regulations on the Price Stabilization Fund with legal provisions.
In case of continuing to maintain the Price Stabilization Fund, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to study amendments and supplements to the draft Decree to strictly regulate the establishment, use and management of the Price Stabilization Fund.
According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Finance, the balance of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund is currently nearly VND 6,700 billion. In the management periods from the beginning of 2024 to present, the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade has not used the fund, and in some periods, the fund has been allocated for some oil products.
The BOG Petroleum Fund is being set aside and used according to the instructions in Circular 103/2021. Accordingly, this fund can only be used when the difference between the base price of the announced period and the base price of the previous period adjacent to the management period increases by 7% or more. When the price decreases by more than 5%, the fund can be set aside more, in addition to 300 VND/liter as prescribed.
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