The new plan to reduce prices at the pump / Oil companies, willing to contribute to the reductions if the state also reduces taxes
The Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare, announced that at the end of this week the Government will adopt new measures to reduce prices at gas stations, such as the reduction of taxes, including in collaboration with oil companies. Sources close to the discussions told HotNews that the operators of the oil sector would rather agree to a voluntary contribution, but only if the measure of additional taxation is not taken.
“We have prepared several options: the reduction of excise taxes, their gradual reduction, the reduction of VAT, but also a voluntary contribution from the oil companies. This contribution is similar to the one that was implemented in 2022,” Nazare said on Wednesday.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance is also working on a normative act through which the exceptional profits of oil companies will be taxed additionally.
“It is about exceptional profits that are only in this period and are not related to the current activity of the company, similar to the regulation of 2022. We do not have at the moment a European framework that gives us the limits in which we can move, but we used the principles of 2022, so that we target speculative profits”, stated the minister.
The excise duty reduction could be between 5 and 15%, Nazare also said. Conversely, the reduction of VAT may attract an infringement procedure, which means the payment of fines at the European Court of Justice, and the countries that resorted to this measure have already received a pre-notification from the European Commission.
According to HotNews sources, the companies agree to voluntarily contribute to the reduction of prices, on the condition that the state reduces taxes by the same level and gives up overtaxing exceptional incomes.
“OMV Petrom, for example, proposed during the discussions during this period the reduction of taxes that would lead to a 40 bani discount at the pump, following which the companies would also come with another 40 bani reduction, in total a reduction of 80 bani”, said the mentioned sources.
Contacted by HotNews, OMV Petrom representatives did not comment on this information and stated that they are waiting for a decision from the state.
Meanwhile, gas station prices have already started to drop, as a result of the ordinance approved last week by the Government. OMV Petrom reduced the price of diesel by 40 bani per liter, and that of gasoline by 3 bani per liter.
