Welcome the new decade with a new fuel excise tax hike

The TRAIN law’s last tranche and prices of fuel products

Effective January 1, the prices of several fuel products which include automotive fuels like gasoline and diesel as well as other fuel products like processed gas, denatured alcohol and kerosene will be seeing an increase in price.

This is due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, also known as the TRAIN law.

Since the said law was implemented in 2017, fuel product prices will have increased a total of Php 10 per liter.

We're used to fuel price increases by now, but a Php 1.50 increase in diesel SURE HURTS the ol' wallet

>>> Check out: The latest updates on fuel prices in Metro Manila

As for the latest increases due to the last and final tranche, please refer to the table below list the new rates of the fuel excise tax for each major fuel product;

Despite the increase, there’s actually a provision under RA10963 which states that if average crude oil prices based on Mean of Platts Singapore reach or go beyond USD 80, then the increase of the excise tax on fuel shall be put on hold.

As of December 2019 though, the price per barrel of crude was at USD 61 so the tax increase indeed went into effect on January 1, 2020.

Last Wednesday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Department of Energy to improve their monitoring of fuel retailers to curb fuel hoarding which of course greatly affects prices in their favor.

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Hopefully, DOE's monitoring will reach even the remotest of Philippine provinces

In his statement, the Senator said that we (concerned authorities) shouldn’t allow fuel retailers to take advantage of customers by selling products from their old inventory at a higher price especially when these were brought before the 3rd tranche of the excise tax hike on fuel took effect.

To combat this profiteering practice, the Department of Energy requires fuel retailers to implement the tax hike ONLY on inventory bought in 2020 and NOT on old stocks.

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