The Ministry of Commerce is visiting the Kingdom’s petroleum importers to check their inventories following the release of new regulations this week that require the companies to maintain and report their stock levels, a ministry official said yesterday.

“We want to get accurate data on the actual quantity of fuel in their stocks so that we can adjust prices in the local market to reflect changes in the price of oil in the international market,” explained ministry spokesperson Soeng Sophary.

She said the ministry’s inspections would not interfere with the work of fuel importers, but were aimed at ensuring the accuracy of the government’s recently developed fuel pricing mechanism.

In March, the Ministry of Commerce adopted a fuel pricing mechanism that sets price caps on fuel sold by the Kingdom’s major petrol retailers. The mechanism is calculated according to a formula based on the average Means of Platts Singapore (MOPS) benchmark, adding in taxes, VAT and local operating costs.

According to a prakas issued by the ministry on Tuesday, fuel importers are required to replace any gasoline or diesel sold during the month to maintain a consistent level of stock, and must report the size of their stock to the ministry during the first week of every month.