Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has decided to take on stricter measures to tackle fraud at petrol stations.
 |
| Quality tests from Tan Phu District severely lacking |
Huynh Khanh Hiep, Deputy Director of HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that after the Department of Science and Technology found some dealers selling poor-quality gasoline, they have resolved to tighten sanctions to reduce fraud. “The licenses of violators will be withdrawn for 6 months,” he said.
A representative from the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) said at the meeting that the fraud exists mainly in HCM City and the Mekong Delta region, and is less likely to occur in the north because high transportation fees lessen the price difference between different types of fuels.
The HCM City’s Department of Science and Technology recently announced a list of 11 dealers that have been selling substandard gasoline. The violators were detected during a joint inspection with the department’s inspectorate agency and the municipal Department of Market Control, which lasted from September 27 to November 16.
There have been 55 unannounced inspections on retailers around the city. It was found that 16 out of 32 gasoline samples failed to meet the national technical standards. Samples of A92 petrol had the highest percentage that failed quality tests, with 11 out of 16 samples not meeting standards. The rate for A95 was 50%.
Many fuel dealers claim to sell A82 gasoline while calling it A92. Most of the samples taken ranged from A82 to A90, officials said. They added that this type of fraud has been going on for years.
