Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi directed oil industry players to empty first their 2018 oil inventories before applying the second round of the excise tax on petroleum products for 2019.
The Department of Energy, the Department of Finance, the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue devised a mechanism to closely monitor oil inventories following the implementation of the second tranche of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law on 1 January 2019.
“We are ready to implement the second tranche of TRAIN, which imposes additional excise taxes to various commodities like petroleum products by New Year,” Cusi said in a statement.
“We have to ensure the proper implementation of the second tranche of TRAIN, because the new collection will be used to support our ‘Build Build Build’ programs, free tuition and medical assistance for our kababayans,” he said.
The DoE, along with its partners and stakeholders, provided mitigating measures to help consumers cope with the effects of the TRAIN Law during its first implementation, such as fuel discounts through the corporate social responsibility and promotional programs, “pantawid pasada,” energy efficiency tips, rigorous monitoring of gas stations to ensure good quality and right quantity of petroleum products, among other measures.
“With the imposition of the additional excise taxes, we are stringently looking at the 2018 inventories of oil companies in order to protect consumers from unjust trading and profiteering once the second tranche is operationalized,” Cusi said.
Cusi reiterated that the sale of old stocks, referring to the remaining balance of the inventory ending December 31, 2018, which was not covered by the second tranche of excise taxes, should not be collected from the consumers.
He said violators would be meted with administrative penalties like closure of the establishment and the criminal penalty of large-scale estafa.
The department supported the recommendation of the Finance Department for the implementation of the second tranche of excise tax increase on petroleum products under Republic Act No. 10963, or the Train law.
“The excise tax will proceed because the country will really need to build infrastructures, so we need the funds,” Cusi said.