BANGKOK, 3 May 2019 (NNT) – EPPO explains oil price, and smuggled oil selling in the South
The problem of high oil prices, is prompting motorists in southern provinces to buy smuggled oil from Malaysia. The Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) has explained that Thai oil is expensive because of taxation but confirmed that the quality of Thai oil is better.
EPPO Director Watthanaphong Khurowat said today that the price of oil in Malaysia is cheaper than Thai oil, because the Malaysian government has subsidized oil prices causing the difference in the diesel price of around 12 baht per liter and 5-20 baht less per liter for benzene. He said Thailand collects excise taxes (such as five baht and 98 satang per liter for diesel and six baht and 50 satang per liter for benzene, making Thai fuel prices higher than those of Malaysia. He maintained that the quality of Thai oil including diesel and gasoline and gasohol is superior and noted that there is a government agency to regulate the prices.
The difference in fuel prices prompts offenders in the region to smuggle oil into Thailand to sell in the South. Access is through Sadao Boundary Post and Padang Besar Boundary Post. Most of it is smuggled into Thailand in modified trucks or by filling up a vehicle’s fuel tank and then driving across the border before siphoning it out for sale at the higher price.
The Excise Department is the main agency that is assisting the Customs Department and the Royal Thai Police to prosecute oil smugglers according to law.
