No gas hike

Speaking in the House of Representatives during debate on the Excise Duty (Petroleum Products) Order 2005 on Monday night, the minister dismissed, once and for all, allegations that Government planned to increase the domestic cost of gasoline, saying there will be "no increase (in price) at the pump."

Last week, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Conrad Enill said Government will have to review the system whereby petroleum products are subsidised, but there are no plans to increase the domestic cost of gasoline. Prime Minister Patrick Manning made no mention of an increase in the price of domestic gasoline when he presented the 2005/2006 Budget in the Lower House on September 28 or at any time during the ensuing Budget debate which ended on October 14 with the Budget’s passage in the Senate.

While admitting that the system of subsidising petroleum products on the local market has not brought the type of returns to the State that it would have liked, Williams said the system is being revamped in order to increase revenue flows to the Government from taxes paid on local petroleum products.

He disclosed that the initial tweaks to the system have resulted in an additional $260 to $270 million flowing into the State’s coffers. Williams also indicated that new margins negotiated for petroleum retailers and new lease arrangements for dealer/owners would improve the efficiency and reliability of petroleum products to the consumer. Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma complimented Williams on the provisions outlined in the Excise Duty (Petroleum Products) Order 2005, but suggested that more be done to increase the number of gas stations in TT.

Sharma also suggested that in light of the crime situation and particularly the recent bombings in Port-of-Spain and St James, security measures must be reviewed at the country’s gas stations in order to prevent robberies and persons from leaving with containers of gasoline which could be used to commit terrorist acts. The UNC MP said gas stations in the US have mechanisms in place to prevent the latter.

The Lower House passed the Excise Duty (Petroleum Products) Order 2005 and it was debated in the Senate yesterday.