Amid a recent decline in world oil prices, Vietnam raised import tax on petroleum products to 15 percent from 10 percent, mainly to reduce state pricing subsidy, local media reported Tuesday.

The new tariff came into force on Sept. 16, while the zero- percent tariff on diesel oil and kerosene are still in place, said the Youth newspaper.

Early this month, the country's Finance Ministry re-placed the 5-percent tariff on petroleum products which enjoyed zero tax rate since 2005, and then increased it to 10 percent in mid-September.

Vietnam cut tariffs on petroleum products from 15 percent to 5 percent, and then to zero percent early last year to lessen impact of increased world oil prices. In the first quarter of 2005 alone, the state provided petroleum subsidies of over 4.8 trillion Vietnamese dong (nearly 301.9 million U.S. dollars).

Vietnam imported over 7.7 million tons of petroleum products worth nearly 4.2 billion dollars in the first eight months of this year, down 3.8 percent in volume but up 25 percent in value against the same period last year, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

In the eight-month period, Vietnam exported more than 11.1 million tons of crude oil totaling nearly 5.8 billion dollars, down 6.5 percent in volume but up 20.3 percent in value.

Source: Xinhua