China unveils regulation on refined oil dealings

Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Wednesday issued a provisional regulation dealing with the sale and licensing of refined oil.

The regulation offers a full description of how to deal with the refined oil. It covers license application and acceptance, examination procedure and period, license grant and alteration, market supervision and administration and legal obligations.

According to the regulation, MOC will supervise the national market of refined oil and the commerce departments affiliated to the provincial governments over the markets within their jurisdictions.

The regulation sets forth the terms for the wholesale, storage and retail of finished oil. It identifies the specific departments entitled to handle the license application and examinations.

The commerce departments at the provincial level will process applications for the wholesale of refined oil and submit the preliminary review report and applications to MOC. The ministry will make the final decision, according to the regulation.

The commerce departments at the city level are entitled to deal with the applications for the storage and retail of finished oil and submit the preliminary report and applications to the commerce departments at the provincial level. These provincial departments make the final decision, the regulation says.

Effective Jan. 1, 2005, the regulation was drafted by considering the existing problems in the finished oil market, according to MOC.

The regulation will help step up the supervision and administration on the finished oil market, regulate the dealings and protect consumers' legitimate rights, some analysts said.

The regulation is part of China's efforts honoring the commitment it made while bidding for the entry to the World Trade Organization. The commitment requires China to make the sale of refined oil accessible to other countries starting from Dec. 11, 2004 and the wholesale accessible in two years from now.

Source: Xinhua