Parliament calls for crackdown on illegal trade

Parliament calls for crackdown on illegal trade

Published on Sunday, 25 November 2012 01:48

The government will tighten controls on illegal trade as the loss of state revenue from the fuel sector amounted to 60 billion kyats each year, said Thura Shwe Mann, Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, on November 21.

"The tax was 3 per cent of GDP last year, and it has declined to nearly 3 per cent this year. The total loss of state revenue would be very high because of illegal trade in various sectors," said Thura Shwe Mann. He said that the officials concerned must take action against illegal trade, and they must also have greater "transparency and accountability" not to block the democratisation process of the country.

An MP submitted a proposal at the parliamentary session on November 21 that the government is to take more effective actions against illegal trade by forming a committee.

He said that police forces could not inspect some cargo fuel tanks according to the instruction of some officials, causing an uncompetitive market for the fuel sellers who are paying commercial tax to the government.

The MP said that most of the fuel companies are trading in petroleum above the registered quantity.

His proposal was supported by the ministers for finance and revenue, commerce and energy and they agreed to form a committee to inspect illegal trade.

Authorities seized a vessel carrying 113 tonnes of fuel illegally imported by Shwe Thanlwin Company in the second week of November.

The fuel export volume from April 1 to the end of October for 2012-2013 was 1.02 million tonnes whereas during the same period last year, it was 1.145 million tonnes.

The government earns revenue of 450-500 kyats for one gallon. As a result of the lower sales, the government will lose revenue of about 15 billion kyats.

The illegal trade volume also increased manifold due to failure in monitoring border trade zones.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2012/11/25/parliament-calls-for-crackdown-on-illegal-trade/