–as government announces further reduction in excise tax on fuel

SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, has announced that the government will be further reducing the excise tax on gasoline and diesel to ease the domestic impact of the continuous rise in the world market price for fuel.

The government, in February, had reduced the excise tax rate on both gasoline and diesel from 50 per cent to 35 per cent.

Even with that adjustment, oil prices continued to rise steadily on the world market, moving from over US$60 a barrel to over US$80 a barrel at close of trade on October 5, 2021. This steady rise in the world price has had a resultant effect with prices rising on the domestic market also.

Minister Singh announced that the government will be lowering the excise tax rate on both gasoline and diesel from 35 per cent to 20 per cent with immediate effect.

This reduction will aid in cushioning the impact on domestic consumers, particularly the travelling public as well as those productive sectors for whom fuel is an important input.

The prices at the pump are expected to also be reduced with immediate effect, with gasoline prices expected to reduce from $213 per litre to $198 per litre, and diesel prices from $200 per litre to $185 per litre.

Minister Singh said that the adjustment in the excise tax rate on fuel from time to time is part of the measures that the government will implement to cushion the domestic impact of world market price fluctuations.

He emphasised that the implementation of those measures is in keeping with President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s commitment to ensuring that Guyanese consumers continue to be protected from an escalation in fuel prices on the world market.