Petrol's oil fund levy jumps Bt1 per litre

Energy Minister Arak Chonlatanon, who chairs the Energy Policy Administrative Committee, acknowledged that the move would make petrol more expensive.
The Oil Fund had been collecting Bt2 per litre from 91-octane and 95-octane petrol, Bt2.20 per litre from gasohol 95, and Bt0.60 from gasohol 91.
The increase will add Bt9 million in revenue per day to the Oil Fund and reduce its negative cash flow from Bt146 million a day to Bt137 million.
The increase in contributions will automatically push up the retail prices of 91/95-octane petrol and gasohol 91/95.
No change was made to the levies on gasohol E20, gasohol E85 or diesel.

WAIVER EXTENSION
While the Energy Ministry is raising petrol levies, the Finance Ministry plans to extend the waiver of the diesel excise tax to the midyear.
Of about 70 million litres of fuel consumed daily, diesel accounts for 50 million litres.
Responding to the Democrat Party’s question in Parliament on how the government intends to cope with the rising cost of living in light of higher fuel prices, Arak said that without the government’s subsidies, diesel would have hit Bt37 per litre.
He insisted that it was time to increase subsided prices of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas for vehicles to reflect their actual cost.
Measures to mitigate the impact would be ready next month.
The Oil Fund, which subsidises energy users, is now Bt21.14 billion in debt. The higher contribution from petrol products is one way to help ease the burden, he said.