The State Auditor of Viet Nam proposed that the Ministry of Finance collect VND470 billion (US$22.38 million) from petrol and oil dealers to account for taxes they owed from last year.— Photo vietstock.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The State Auditor of Viet Nam proposed that the Ministry of Finance collect VND470 billion (US$22.38 million) from petrol and oil dealers to account for taxes they owed from last year.

These products were temporarily imported. But rather than re-exporting them, the dealers sold them domestically, so they did not pay sufficient import taxes, the auditor explained.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance forced seven petrol dealers to pay VND345 billion ($16.43 million) in taxes for petrol and oil products that were temporarily imported and sold on the local market rather than re-exported.

Those dealers paid the tax arrears even though they believed they should not have to because last year, all petrol and oil traders suffered huge losses and did not have capital for production or business, said Trinh Quang Khanh, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Petrol and Oil Association. They petitioned the Ministry of Finance for refunds. — VNS