FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Keeping up share and revenue

Keeping up share and revenue

SHELL RESUMEs GASOLINE 91 SALES Bt4.45 bn in tax refund to oil traders, gas-station operaters

Shell Company of Thailand has resumed selling gasoline 91 so as to avoid a drop in its sales volume and revenue following the temporary removal of the tax levy.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy Business has to repay Bt4.45 billion to oil traders and gas-station operators for the tax collected before removal of the tax levy.

Shell chairperson Pissawan Achanapornkul yesterday said if Shell did not resume selling gasoline 91, the company's sales volume as well as sales revenue would slip by 4 per cent from last year, thus missing its sales growth target of 2-3 per cent this year. Shell posted sales volume of more than 2 billion litres in 2010.

"We expect the resumption of gasoline 91 sales in some of our gas stations will help us accomplish our sales volume growth target of 2-3 per cent. We have performed well before the policy to reduce the retail oil prices by removing the tax levy. But our sales volume now has dropped," she said.

She said the temporary removal of tax levy to the Oil Fund now had caused the prices of gasohol 95 to be equal to that of gasoline 91. Hence, consumers who still believe that the use of gasohol will have an impact on their cars' engines have switched to gasoline instead of gasohol. As a result, Shell's gasohol 95 sales volume nearly a month after the policy has been implemented has dropped by 20 per cent.

However, though the sales volume of gasohol 91 has risen by 19 per cent thanks to the attractive Bt3 per litre difference when compared with gasoline 91, it cannot offset the sales decline of gasohol 95. Gasohol 95 accounts for 20 per cent of Shell's total sales volume.

Shell removed all gasoline products from its gas stations three years ago and sells only gasohol products due to the previous government's policy to promote the use of ethanol.

Shell will sell gasoline 91 in its 260 gas stations out of 560 totally nationwide within a month. Some of the stations have already sold the oil product since September 20.

"The previous government promoted biofuels, so Shell insisted on following the policy by removing all gasoline products from our stations and selling only gasohol products. Now, the policy has been changed temporarily. Thus, we have to change as well. If possible, we want a clear policy from the government on this matter," she said.

Pissawan added that if the government still supported the use of biofuels, it should remove the tax levy on gasohol 95 so that the selling price of this product will be Bt1.40 per litre lower than gasoline 91.

Veerapol Jirapraditthakul, director-general of the Department of Energy Business, said the department had surveyed the stocks of oil products with all oil traders and gas stations nationwide in order to repay the tax collected before the levy removal. The stock of gasoline 91, gasoline 95 and diesel in gas stations are 38.415 million litres, 1.71 million litres and 129.658 million litres, respectively. Thus, the government has to repay Bt650 million totally to gas-station operators.

Meanwhile, the stock of gasoline 91, gasoline 95 and diesel of 17 oil traders are 108.889 million litres, 5.373 million litres and 814.495 million litres, respectively, requiring repayment of Bt3.8 billion.

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