Fall in petro price hurts revenue

KATHMANDU:

Despite the increased import of petroleum products, which is the top import commodity of the country, the government lost revenue worth Rs 170 million during the first seven months of the current fiscal as compared to the revenue generated through fuel import in the corresponding period of last fiscal. This was due to the price of petroleum products declining in the international market.

As per the Department of Customs (DoC), it generated revenue worth Rs 12.32 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) that is levied at customs point during the import of fuel, where as such revenue was Rs 12.49 billion in the same period last fiscal.

“Customs revenue from petroleum products was down due to the decline in price of oil in international market,” said Shishir Kumar Dhungana, director general of DoC.

Petroleum import bill also dropped by Rs 600 million in the review period along with the price of crude oil declining in the international market. The country imported petroleum products worth Rs 63.4 billion in the first seven months of this fiscal as compared to imports worth Rs 69.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2013-14, according to DoC.

Price of brent crude oil stood at $107 per barrel (159 litres) in mid-July 2014 (beginning of the Nepali fiscal calendar) and continued to free fall till mid-January 2015 to $45.82 per barrel and gradually rose then after and stood at $62.58 per barrel on March 1.

In terms of quantity, import of petroleum products in this fiscal increased. Till the first seven months of this fiscal, the country imported 712,972 kilolitres of petroleum products (petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation turbine fuel) and 138,596 tonnes of cooking gas. In the same period of last fiscal 2013-14, total import of petroleum products and cooking gas stood at 635,625 kilolitres and 128,781 tonnes, respectively.

Source:THT