China will raise a resource tax on crude oil and natural gas while imposing a new resource tax on coal starting 1 December this year, the Chinese Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation announced.

The resource tax for crude oil and natural gas will be increased from the current 5% to 6%.

Meanwhile the new tax on coal products will range between 2-10%.

Following the new tax implementation, the authorities stated that the government will eliminate the mineral resource compensation fee and stop collecting other fees for the coal, oil and gas sectors starting from the effective date.

The price adjustment fund for coal, crude oil, as well as natural gas, will be reinstated at the same time.

Crude oil and natural gas that are used for heating during the transport of heavy oil within oil fields will be exempted from the resource tax. Meanwhile, heavy oil, high pour-point oil and rich sour natural gas will enjoy a 40% reduction of resource tax.

The move, aimed to boost energy conservation, was the nation's latest effort in pushing forward resource tax reforms after the announcement to end zero duty on five coal products by 15 October.