China fuel tax to wait till oil stablises-report

BEIJING, July 8 (Reuters) - China shall further perfect its long-delayed fuel tax plan and its introduction will wait until oil prices stabilise and Beijing comes up with a proper fuel price scheme, state media quoted a senior government official as saying on Tuesday.

The remark, by a Ministry of Finance official, signalled that Beijing is once again stalling on implementing the fuel tax plan prepared for nearly one and half decade as global crude hovers near record above $140 a barrel.

"The introduction of fuel tax needs some essential preconditions, such as relatively stabilising oil prices and a fuel price scheme in place...So the plan needs to be further perfected," Zeng Xiaoan, a department director at the ministry, was quoted by official Xinhua.

Beijing regulates and caps the country's retail prices for gasoline and diesel below soaring international markets for inflationary concerns, a policy that curbs domestic refinery output and causes recurrent fuel shortages.

A fuel tax, which experts have anticipated at around 25 percent or higher, would be charged on retail gasoline and diesel sales to replace road tolling. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu; editing by James Jukwey)