Petroleum is an important source of revenue

132. Petroleum taxes account for about one fifth of total revenue. Total government revenue averaged about 11 percent of GDP in the last three years, and petroleum taxes amounted to over 2 percent of GDP. Taxes are collected through import duties, excise, and VAT, as well as an “additional tax”, which was introduced in 2002. The share of petroleum taxes in total revenue has, however, varied over the years. At the lowest points in 1994 and in 1999, petroleum taxes amounted to less than one tenth of total revenue. Fortunately, total revenue collection did not fall proportionately, which seems to indicate that the revenue authorities had substantial leeway in relying on different revenue sources to compensate for those shortfalls.

View Full Size

Petroleum Taxes and Total Revenue, 1994–2003

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

View Full Size

Tax Collection on Petroleum Products

(In billion of riel)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

Source: Customs and Excise Departmant

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

133. Gasoline and diesel are the two main sources of petroleum taxes. Revenue from gasoline and diesel each amounted to 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent of GDP in 2003. Revenue from other petroleum products remains very small. Although the quantities of kerosene and fuel oil imports are quite large, they are subject to considerably lower taxes as discussed further below.

Quantities of imported petroleum products

134. Officially recorded petroleum imports nearly doubled between 1994 and 2003. Their volume increased by an average 9½ percent annually during the period, compared to 6½ percent real GDP growth.⁶⁸ Diesel imports grew by 13½ percent annually, but have declined from their peak in 2001. Kerosene and fuel oil imports rose by an average of 20 percent annually.

View Full Size

Petroleum Imports, 1994–2003¹

(In ’000 tons)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

Source: Customs and Excise Departmant.¹ Includes duty-exempt imports.

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

135. Only gasoline imports declined by 20 percent over the period. Between 1994 and 2003, gasoline imports declined on average by 2 percent a year. This decline is inconsistent with the pace of overall economic growth and the rapid rise in the number of cars as well as substantial increase in road construction and rehabilitation. The National Institute of Statistics (NIS) data report an annual average increase of 5 percent in passenger cars during the same period.

136. The decline in officially reported gasoline imports suggests that growing domestic demand has been met through increased smuggling. Smuggling is alleged to take place through the customs posts via mis-invoicing (declaring gasoline to be kerosene to avoid higher taxes), under-invoicing, and false claims of exemptions. Smuggling is believed to be carried out by both small and large operators. Small operators carry 30 liter “bidon’ containers across the border on bicycles or in carts. According to some reports, some large operators are evading customs officers and selling their gasoline through gas stations alongside tax-paid gasoline.

Several changes to the tax regime

137. Tax rates have been raised or adjusted a number of times since 1994.⁶⁹ In 1994, an import duty tariff, a consumption tax, and a military tax were levied on petroleum products that cumulatively amounted to 52 percent of the gasoline price (see Annex Table 1). Rates have risen considerably since then: excises were introduced on gasoline in 1995 and a number of changes adopted in subsequent years. For gasoline, the import duty was raised from 45 percent to 50 percent in 1995 and then reduced to 35 percent on July 1, 2001. The 4 percent consumption tax was converted into a VAT at 10 percent in 1999, and was levied on import values inclusive of import duty and excises. The conversion of the consumption tax to a VAT provided relief to exporting firms who were eligible for a refund. The excise on gasoline products was raised in 2001 to compensate for the reduction in the import duty. A similar pattern was followed for diesel on which import duties were reduced in July 2001 and, to compensate, the excise was raised. Only VAT was levied on kerosene until 2004 when an import duty and excise were introduced.⁷⁰

138. An additional tax burden arises whenever the reference price is higher than the actual import price. Since 1994, taxes are levied on an administrative reference price. Only since 2004 has the market price been higher than the reference price. But most of the times, the reference price was higher than the world price.

139. As a result, the statutory tax rate has been high, particularly for gasoline. The statutory tax rate, including the impact of the higher reference price, has been as high as 189 percent in 1998 when world prices were at a low point. In the case of diesel, the highest tax rate was 62 percent in 2002 and kerosene, currently at 19 percent, is at the highest point (Table 2). Currently, the statutory tax rate for gasoline is about double that of diesel.

View Full Size

Comparison of Gasoline Reference Price Used by CED and World Average Price

(US$ per ton)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

Tax collections compared to taxes due

140. Tax collections have fallen short even of taxes due based on reported imports prior to 2000.⁷¹ During 2001–03, tax collections had become more in line with taxes due suggesting improved tax effort that reduced tax evasion.⁷² However, the difference was large in 1998–99 when nearly two thirds of taxes due on reported imports were not collected. The difference between taxes due and taxes collected also matters when estimating the distributor’s margin, as seen below.

Table 1.

Total Statutory Taxes

(as percent of reference/market price)

Table 1.

Total Statutory Taxes

(as percent of reference/market price)

		1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
As percent of reference price
	Gasoline	52%	88%	88%	88%	88%	98%	98%	99%	108%	108%	108%
	Diesel	26%	25%	25%	25%	25%	32%	32%	32%	51%	51%	52%
	Kerosene	5%	5%	5%	5%	4%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	29%
	Fuel oil	12%	12%	12%	12%	12%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%
	Jet fuel	12%	12%	12%	12%	12%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%
	Gas	11%	11%	11%	11%	11%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%
As percent of market price
	Gasoline	56%	125%	136%	131%	189%	155%	111%	132%	140%	112%	88%
	Diesel	31%	36%	34%	36%	50%	52%	32%	36%	62%	51%	44%
	Kerosene	5%	6%	5%	5%	7%	13%	8%	9%	9%	7%	19%
	Fuel Oil	10%	10%	9%	10%	13%	17%	10%	11%	12%	10%	8%
	Jet Fuel	16%	16%	13%	14%	19%	24%	15%	17%	18%	15%	13%
	Gas	21%	20%	15%	17%	24%	18%	10%	11%	14%	12%	11%

View Table

Table 1.

Total Statutory Taxes

(as percent of reference/market price)

		1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
As percent of reference price
	Gasoline	52%	88%	88%	88%	88%	98%	98%	99%	108%	108%	108%
	Diesel	26%	25%	25%	25%	25%	32%	32%	32%	51%	51%	52%
	Kerosene	5%	5%	5%	5%	4%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	29%
	Fuel oil	12%	12%	12%	12%	12%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%
	Jet fuel	12%	12%	12%	12%	12%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%	18%
	Gas	11%	11%	11%	11%	11%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%
As percent of market price
	Gasoline	56%	125%	136%	131%	189%	155%	111%	132%	140%	112%	88%
	Diesel	31%	36%	34%	36%	50%	52%	32%	36%	62%	51%	44%
	Kerosene	5%	6%	5%	5%	7%	13%	8%	9%	9%	7%	19%
	Fuel Oil	10%	10%	9%	10%	13%	17%	10%	11%	12%	10%	8%
	Jet Fuel	16%	16%	13%	14%	19%	24%	15%	17%	18%	15%	13%
	Gas	21%	20%	15%	17%	24%	18%	10%	11%	14%	12%	11%

Table 2.

Effective Tax Rate and Revenue Shortfall

Table 2.

Effective Tax Rate and Revenue Shortfall

		1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Effective tax rate = tax collection as percent of dutiable imports (valued at reference price)
	Gasoline	79%	86%	87%	30%	29%	75%	98%	105%	108%
	Diesel	26%	25%	24%	16%	17%	26%	32%	50%	52%
	Kerosene	4%	4%	4%	4%	10%	11%	10%	10%	10%
Difference = revenue shortfall
	Gasoline	9%	2%	1%	58%	70%	24%	1%	3%	−1%
	Diese	l0%	1%	1%	10%	15%	6%	0%	1%	−1%
	Kerosene	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%	−1%	0%	0%	0%

View Table

Table 2.

Effective Tax Rate and Revenue Shortfall

		1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Effective tax rate = tax collection as percent of dutiable imports (valued at reference price)
	Gasoline	79%	86%	87%	30%	29%	75%	98%	105%	108%
	Diesel	26%	25%	24%	16%	17%	26%	32%	50%	52%
	Kerosene	4%	4%	4%	4%	10%	11%	10%	10%	10%
Difference = revenue shortfall
	Gasoline	9%	2%	1%	58%	70%	24%	1%	3%	−1%
	Diese	l0%	1%	1%	10%	15%	6%	0%	1%	−1%
	Kerosene	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%	−1%	0%	0%	0%

Fuel Oil Imports

141. Fuel oil imports have increased on average by 22 percent annually since 1995, but they do not contribute much to taxes. In 2003, fuel oil imports amounted to 72,000 tons, or one fifth of total petroleum imports. However, its contribution to tax collection has been negligible as the statutory tax rate is about 10 percent of world market price (see Annex Table 1). Moreover, more than one half of the imported quantity was not subject to duty and it is also the only petroleum product whose reference price has remained relatively low compared to world market prices. The sharp increase in fuel oil imports may also reflect some mis-invoicing of gasoline imports to take advantage of the lower tax rate.

View Full Size

Fuel Oil Imports

(’000 tons)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

Table 3.

Reference prices for dutiable valuation

Table 3.

Reference prices for dutiable valuation

	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Gasoline	200	275	320	320	320	320	320	320	320	320	309
Diesel	200	200	275	275	275	275	275	275	275	275	267
Kerosene	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230
Fuel Oil	109	120	129	129	129	129	129	129	129	129	129
ZA1	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235
Gas	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325

View Table

Table 3.

Reference prices for dutiable valuation

	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Gasoline	200	275	320	320	320	320	320	320	320	320	309
Diesel	200	200	275	275	275	275	275	275	275	275	267
Kerosene	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230	230
Fuel Oil	109	120	129	129	129	129	129	129	129	129	129
ZA1	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235	235
Gas	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325	325

Estimated demand for gasoline and diesel

142. The demand for gasoline is estimated at 237,000 tons in 2003, compared to the officially reported imports of 102,000 tons (Table 4). This estimate was derived from the following assumptions:

• no smuggling in 1995; and

• the growth of gasoline demand is derived from (i) the 5 percent growth of the number of cars in Cambodia based on the NIS Statistical Yearbook combined with information on automobile imports in the last two years, and (ii) a 2 percent growth of gasoline consumption per car since 1994, reflecting larger vehicles and engine sizes, and more extensive road network.

Table 4.

Potential Imports of Major Petroleum Products

Table 4.

Potential Imports of Major Petroleum Products

		1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Number of cars
	growth rate (%)		4.2	4.7	4.9	2.9	5.1	4.6	4.4	6.8	7.5
Consumption per a car
	growth rate (%)		2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Potential gasoline consumption
growth rate (%)		6.2	6.7	6.9	4.9	7.1	6.6	6.4	8.8	9.5
Import quantity (in thousand ton)
Custom data: (a)
	Gasoline	129	113	110	104	112	116	120	134	102	102
	Diesel	145	183	222	218	355	356	388	484	404	413
Potential imports: (b)
	Gasoline	129	137	146	156	164	175	187	199	216	237
	Diesel	145	197	250	302	355	407	460	513	565	618
	Difference: (b) - (a)
	Gasoline	0	24	36	52	51	60	67	65	114	135
	Diesel	0	14	28	84	0	52	72	29	161	205

View Table

Table 4.

Potential Imports of Major Petroleum Products

		1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Number of cars
	growth rate (%)		4.2	4.7	4.9	2.9	5.1	4.6	4.4	6.8	7.5
Consumption per a car
	growth rate (%)		2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Potential gasoline consumption
growth rate (%)		6.2	6.7	6.9	4.9	7.1	6.6	6.4	8.8	9.5
Import quantity (in thousand ton)
Custom data: (a)
	Gasoline	129	113	110	104	112	116	120	134	102	102
	Diesel	145	183	222	218	355	356	388	484	404	413
Potential imports: (b)
	Gasoline	129	137	146	156	164	175	187	199	216	237
	Diesel	145	197	250	302	355	407	460	513	565	618
	Difference: (b) - (a)
	Gasoline	0	24	36	52	51	60	67	65	114	135
	Diesel	0	14	28	84	0	52	72	29	161	205

Hence, gasoline demand is estimated to have grown by about 7 percent per annum since 1995.

143. The demand for diesel is estimated at 618,000 tons in 2003, compared to dutiable imports of 413,000 tons. This was based on the following assumptions:

• no smuggling in 1995 nor in 2001; and

• demand for diesel is stable and can be derived by a linear trend from 1995 and 2001.

Hence, diesel imports are estimated to have grown by 22 percent between 1995 and 1999 and by 12 percent thereafter.

View Full Size

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

Smuggled products and foregone revenue

144. Foregone revenue due to smuggling is estimated to be about 1.6 percent of GDP. Foregone tax revenue for gasoline alone is about 0.9 percent of GDP based on an estimated smuggled amount of 152 thousand tons in 2003 or about 60 percent of total demand (Table 5). For diesel, estimated foregone revenue is 0.7 percent of GDP based on an estimated 135 thousand tons of smuggled diesel or 33 percent of total demand in 2003.

Table 5.

Potential Tax Revenue

(in billion riel)

Table 5.

Potential Tax Revenue

(in billion riel)

	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Potential tax revenue: (a)
Total	104	133	184	240	347	383	384	564	624
Gasoline	77	94	127	156	210	227	213	264	293
Diesel	28	39	57	85	136	156	171	300	331
Actual tax revenue: (b)
Total	74	101	105	94	105	217	307	361	361
Gasoline	48	65	64	37	41	110	148	154	141
Diesel	26	36	41	57	64	106	159	207	221
Foregone tax revenue: (b) - (a)
Total	31	32	79	147	242	167	77	203	262
Gasoline	28	29	63	119	170	116	65	110	152
Diesel	2	2	16	28	72	50	12	93	110
Summary: Foregone tax revenue (in percent of GDP)
Total	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.3	1.8	1.2	0.5	1.3	1.6
Gasoline	0.3	0.3	0.6	1.0	1.3	0.8	0.4	0.7	0.9
Diesel	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.1	0.6	0.7

View Table

Table 5.

Potential Tax Revenue

(in billion riel)

	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Potential tax revenue: (a)
Total	104	133	184	240	347	383	384	564	624
Gasoline	77	94	127	156	210	227	213	264	293
Diesel	28	39	57	85	136	156	171	300	331
Actual tax revenue: (b)
Total	74	101	105	94	105	217	307	361	361
Gasoline	48	65	64	37	41	110	148	154	141
Diesel	26	36	41	57	64	106	159	207	221
Foregone tax revenue: (b) - (a)
Total	31	32	79	147	242	167	77	203	262
Gasoline	28	29	63	119	170	116	65	110	152
Diesel	2	2	16	28	72	50	12	93	110
Summary: Foregone tax revenue (in percent of GDP)
Total	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.3	1.8	1.2	0.5	1.3	1.6
Gasoline	0.3	0.3	0.6	1.0	1.3	0.8	0.4	0.7	0.9
Diesel	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.1	0.6	0.7

145. Foregone revenue from smuggled petroleum products could be even higher. First, these estimates assume that there was no smuggling in the base year, 1995. Also, foregone revenue from smuggling of kerosene, fuel oil, and other products nor from mis-invoicing is not included.⁷³ Therefore, these amounts could be considered a lower bound for foregone revenue.

Comparison of retail prices to neighboring countries

147. The growing gap in retail prices has provided impetus for increased smuggling of gasoline. The retail price of gasoline is 50 percent higher in Cambodia than in Thailand and nearly 60 percent higher than in Vietnam. Moreover, the gap has likely widened recently in the last month as Vietnam has reduced taxes in 2004 in view of the sharp increase in world prices.

View Full Size

Gasoline Retail Price Comparison

(US $ per liter)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

View Full Size

Diesel Retail Price Comparison

(US $ per liter)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

148. The retail price of diesel is also higher in Cambodia but by a smaller margin. The retail price of diesel is nearly 20 percent higher in Cambodia than in Thailand. Diesel retail prices are not available for Vietnam but are likely lower than in Cambodia.

149. However, in the case of kerosene the price gap is large only relative to Vietnam, by 36 percent. There is only a small gap between kerosene prices in Cambodia and Thailand. But the price of kerosene is still 36 percent higher than in Cambodia.

View Full Size

Kerosene Retail Price Comparison

(US$ per liter)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

Comparison with tax regimes in neighboring countries

150. The widening retail price gap can be partly explained by the different tax rates and tax structures between Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2002, the tax rate on gasoline in Cambodia was 140 percent, compared to 53 percent in Thailand and 57 percent in Vietnam (Table 6). In Cambodia, the tax/duties are ad valorem and compounded. In Thailand, however, taxes are specific, in baht per liter. Thus, the difference widens during price increases and vise versa. Moreover, petroleum products are exempt of VAT in Thailand.

Table 6.

Comparison of Tax Regimes in 2002

Sources: Summary of Tax System in each country’s Statistical Appendix, Howell Zee (2003), and staff estimates.

Table 6.

Comparison of Tax Regimes in 2002

A. Tax structure comparison	Cambodia						Thailand						Vietnam
	Import duty (1)	Excise	Other (2)	VAT	Total (%)		Import duty	Excise liter (1)	Other (2)	VAT (3)	Total (baht)		Import duty	Excise (1)	Other	VAT	Total (%)
Gasoline, regular	35	33.33		10			0	3.69	0.37	0	4.1		20	15	0	10	45
Gasoline, premium	35	33.33		10			0	4.69	0.47	0	5.2		20	15	0	10	45
Diesel	15	4.4		10			0	2.35	0.24	0	2.6		20	15	0	10	45
Kerosene (3)	0			10			0	3.06	0.31	0	3.4		0	0	0	10	10
Other (lubricants)	15	25		10									0	0	0	10	10
B. Calculation for gasoline:
	Import duty ($)	Excise ($)	Other ($)	VAT ($)	Total ($)	Price in Riel	Import duty ($)	Excise ($)	Other ($)	VAT ($)	Total ($)	Price in Riel	Import duty ($)	Excise ($)	Other ($)	VAT ($)	Total ($)	Price in Riel
Import price per liter	0.18						0.18						0.18
Reference price per liter	0.23						0.18						0.18			0.08
Taxable base	0.23	0.31	0.41	0.43			0.18						0.18	0.29		0.21
Tax per liter of gasoline (4)	0.08	0.104	0.02	0.04	0.25		0.00	0.09	0.009	0.00	0.09	4.05	0.04	0.04	0	0.02	0.10
Cumulative tax rate (% of import price)					140						53						57
After tax cost in $ and riel					0.42	1660					0.27	1060					0.28	1084
Retail price					0.54	2100					0.36	1392					0.34	1317
Implied distributor’s margin ($)					0.11						0.08						0.06
Implied distributor’s margin (% of import price)					64%						48%						34%
Notes:							Notes:						Notes:
(1) Based on prescribed reference price of $320 per ton for gasoline and $275 for diesel.							(1) Excise duty levied in baht per liter.						(1) Tax base = sale price/(1+Tax rate).
(2) A additional import duty of 2 cents per liter for gasoline and 4 cents per liter for diesel or 23.32 per ton for gasoline and 46.64 per ton for diesel.							(2) Surcharge on excise for local governments, at 10 percent of excise.
(3) An import duty of 7 percent has been levied on Kerosese since 2004.							(3) Petroleum products are exempt from VAT.

Sources: Summary of Tax System in each country’s Statistical Appendix, Howell Zee (2003), and staff estimates.

View Table

Table 6.

Comparison of Tax Regimes in 2002

A. Tax structure comparison	Cambodia						Thailand						Vietnam
	Import duty (1)	Excise	Other (2)	VAT	Total (%)		Import duty	Excise liter (1)	Other (2)	VAT (3)	Total (baht)		Import duty	Excise (1)	Other	VAT	Total (%)
Gasoline, regular	35	33.33		10			0	3.69	0.37	0	4.1		20	15	0	10	45
Gasoline, premium	35	33.33		10			0	4.69	0.47	0	5.2		20	15	0	10	45
Diesel	15	4.4		10			0	2.35	0.24	0	2.6		20	15	0	10	45
Kerosene (3)	0			10			0	3.06	0.31	0	3.4		0	0	0	10	10
Other (lubricants)	15	25		10									0	0	0	10	10
B. Calculation for gasoline:
	Import duty ($)	Excise ($)	Other ($)	VAT ($)	Total ($)	Price in Riel	Import duty ($)	Excise ($)	Other ($)	VAT ($)	Total ($)	Price in Riel	Import duty ($)	Excise ($)	Other ($)	VAT ($)	Total ($)	Price in Riel
Import price per liter	0.18						0.18						0.18
Reference price per liter	0.23						0.18						0.18			0.08
Taxable base	0.23	0.31	0.41	0.43			0.18						0.18	0.29		0.21
Tax per liter of gasoline (4)	0.08	0.104	0.02	0.04	0.25		0.00	0.09	0.009	0.00	0.09	4.05	0.04	0.04	0	0.02	0.10
Cumulative tax rate (% of import price)					140						53						57
After tax cost in $ and riel					0.42	1660					0.27	1060					0.28	1084
Retail price					0.54	2100					0.36	1392					0.34	1317
Implied distributor’s margin ($)					0.11						0.08						0.06
Implied distributor’s margin (% of import price)					64%						48%						34%
Notes:							Notes:						Notes:
(1) Based on prescribed reference price of $320 per ton for gasoline and $275 for diesel.							(1) Excise duty levied in baht per liter.						(1) Tax base = sale price/(1+Tax rate).
(2) A additional import duty of 2 cents per liter for gasoline and 4 cents per liter for diesel or 23.32 per ton for gasoline and 46.64 per ton for diesel.							(2) Surcharge on excise for local governments, at 10 percent of excise.
(3) An import duty of 7 percent has been levied on Kerosese since 2004.							(3) Petroleum products are exempt from VAT.

Sources: Summary of Tax System in each country’s Statistical Appendix, Howell Zee (2003), and staff estimates.

151. The distributor’s margin in Cambodia is also larger. The margin, calculated as the difference between the retail price and after-tax cost (market import price plus all taxes), is about 10 cents per liter in Cambodia. As calculated, it does not include operating and fixed costs of distributors and retailers. The margin in Thailand and Vietnam is about 8 and 6 cents per liter, respectively. For diesel, the distributor’s margin has ranged between 5 and 12 cents per gallon. Part of the reason for the higher margin in Cambodia may be higher import and transport costs.

152. When tax evasion is taken into account, the margins in Cambodia are even larger although they have narrowed in the past two years.⁷⁴ When collections fall significantly below the taxes due, this provides a much wider distributor’s margin for those not paying the taxes. For both diesel and gasoline, the effective margin was significantly higher in 1998 and 1999, due to significant tax evasion.

View Full Size

Distributor’s Margin for Gasoline

($/liter)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide

View Full Size

Distributor’s Margin for Diesel

($/liter)

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2004, 331; 10.5089/9781451821789.002.A010

• Download Figure
• Download figure as PowerPoint slide