Tax official: Fuel tax will not mean price hike

The long-expected imposition of a tax on fuel will be timed so it does not coincide with a rise in general fuel prices, Cong Ming, an official of the State Administration of Taxation, told Shanghai Securities News (in Chinese). Cong was keen to reassure consumers about the impact of the fuel tax, stressing that it will replace existing road maintenance taxes and therefore not affect fuel prices. The country's two major oil refiners, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), have lobbied the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) for an adjustment in retail fuel prices in response to continuing price hikes in the international crude oil market.