China cuts oil products import tax for 2008

BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) – China will halve its import tax on gasoline, diesel and kerosene to 1 percent next year, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday in the latest effort to encourage more overseas buying to meet strong demand.

Beginning on Jan. 1, the import duty for fuel oil, of which China is Asia’s largest buyer, will be kept at the same rate of 3 percent, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site, www.mof.gov.cn.


The oil products tax cuts, last made in November 2006 from previous rates at 5-6 percent, came along with more drastic cuts in metals import duty and increases in export tariffs for steel products, as Beijing sought to reduce its record trade surplus and also to curb energy-intensive investment.

The cuts on diesel import duty come just days after Beijing decided to waive its 17 percent value-added tax on diesel fuel imports between December and March to help the world’s second-largest oil user cope with domestic shortage.

Reuters