China finds three independent oil refiners evaded fuel taxes

China's Liaoning province found three independent oil refiners evaded fuel taxes and will prosecute the personnel involved, authorities said on Wednesday, part of a broader clampdown on irregular tax practices in the private refining sector. The companies, Panjin Beifang Asphalt Fuel Co, Liaoning Bora Biological Energy Co and Panjin Haoye Chemical Co Ltd, were found to have evaded fuel consumption taxes on the refined oil products it sold, the Provincial Tax Service of Liaoning, located in northeastern China, said on its website late on Wednesday.

China's Liaoning province found three independent oil refiners evaded fuel taxes and will prosecute the personnel involved, authorities said on Wednesday, part of a broader clampdown on irregular tax practices in the private refining sector.

The companies, Panjin Beifang Asphalt Fuel Co, Liaoning Bora Biological Energy Co, and Panjin Haoye Chemical Co Ltd, were found to have evaded fuel consumption taxes on the refined oil products it sold, the Provincial Tax Service of Liaoning, located in northeastern China, said on its website late on Wednesday. The first two firms are controlled by private oil and chemical firm Bora Group based in the city of Panjin, which is about 490 km (304 miles) northeast of Beijing. "Companies evaded fuel tax...by presenting taxable refined oil products as chemical products that are not subject to the consumption levy," the Tax Service said.

However, the government has managed to maintain the normal operation of the plants during the investigations, the agency added. In October, Reuters reported that Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec, had stepped in to supply crude oil to Liaoning Bora and Panjin Haoye Chemical.

A senior official with Bora Group declined to comment when contacted by Reuters and referred media queries to the Panjin city government. Calls to Haoye Chemical were unanswered.