Excise tax cut on diesel extended for two months
Excise tax on diesel fuel will be reduced by 5 baht per litre for another two months — from July 21 to September 20 — in a bid to help alleviate the financial burden on people.
A news source said on Tuesday that a Cabinet meeting has approved the proposal by the Energy Ministry. The move will cost the government 2 billion baht in reduced revenue, but will keep the diesel price at the current level of around 35 baht per litre.
In February, the government had decided to cut excise tax by 3 baht per litre, down from 5.99 baht, from February 18 to May 20. On May 21, the cut was increased to 5 baht per litre to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices and remains effective until July 20.
As of July 10, the Oil Fuel Fund which provides subsidy for diesel is 110.91 billion baht in deficit, the highest ever. Of the total, 72.53 billion baht is from the oil account and 38.38 billion baht is from the liquefied petroleum gas account. The fund has around 3.5 billion baht of cashflow.
