Vietnam cuts electricity price by 2% and scraps gasoline tax from today to ease costs for households and businesses
Vietnam has cut its average retail electricity price by 2% and removed the special consumption tax on gasoline from 1 November, in a five-month package aimed at supporting economic stability and lowering costs for households and businesses.
Vietnam has cut its average retail electricity price by 2% and removed the special consumption tax on gasoline from 1 November, in a package of energy-cost relief that took effect at the start of November and will run for five months. The government announced both measures on Saturday, presenting them as a direct response to cost pressures on households and businesses.
Under the electricity decision, the average retail tariff falls to 2,159.9 dong per kilowatt-hour, excluding value-added tax, according to the government statement reported by Reuters. State utility Vietnam Electricity, known as EVN, announced the new tariff on the evening of 31 October, confirming that the 2% reduction would apply from 1 November.
The gasoline measure is the larger of the two in percentage terms. The special consumption tax on all types of gasoline has been cut to zero from rates that previously stood at 10% for regular gasoline, 8% for E5 blended fuel and 7% for E10, under Government Resolution No. 45/2026/NQ-CP, signed on 31 October by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang. The zero rate runs from 1 November until 31 March 2027.
The tax cut feeds straight into pump prices. The Ministry of Industry and Trade set new maximum retail prices of 24,223 dong per litre for E5RON92 and 24,159 dong per litre for E10RON95-III, reductions of 1,804 dong and 1,575 dong respectively from the previous ceilings. The ministry announced the adjustment on the evening of 31 October, effective from midnight at the start of 1 November.
The government said the purpose of both measures is to support economic stability and reduce costs for households and businesses. Energy costs touch almost every part of the economy, from household budgets and small workshops to transport and manufacturing, and the timing, just ahead of the year-end period, is designed to give firms and families some breathing room as the year closes.
The announcement also fits Vietnam's ambitious growth arithmetic for 2026. The government is targeting economic growth of above 10% for the year as a whole, which means fourth-quarter growth must be higher than 12.5% to meet the target, according to Reuters. Cheaper electricity and fuel are, in that context, a way of supporting production and consumption in the final months of the year rather than a standalone gesture.
The measures were prepared in a hurry. Only days earlier, on 27 October, the deputy prime minister had directed EVN to urgently review its costs and maximise savings, and asked the finance ministry to examine the legal basis for cutting the gasoline tax to zero. The compressed timetable reflects how quickly the government wanted the relief in place, with both ministries required to complete their assessments before the 1 November start date.
Vietnam has used the gasoline tax lever before. The special consumption tax on gasoline was previously set at zero from late March to June 2026 in an earlier effort to stabilise fuel markets, so the new five-month window is a return to a familiar tool rather than an experiment. The difference this time is that the tax cut is paired with an electricity price reduction, widening the relief beyond motorists to every electricity consumer.
For households, the practical effect will show up in two places: the monthly electricity bill and the cost of filling a tank. For businesses, particularly those in transport, food production and manufacturing, lower energy input costs may ease some of the margin pressure of recent months, although how much of the saving reaches final consumer prices will depend on competition and demand in each sector.
What happens next depends on whether the relief is extended or allowed to lapse. The zero gasoline tax is scheduled to expire after 31 March 2027, though the government may shorten or extend the period, and the electricity tariff will be reviewed in line with the usual pricing mechanism. If energy costs rise again in world markets, Hanoi will face the same choice it faced this week: absorb the pressure itself or pass it on to consumers.
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