The tax bill has provisions that contribute to limiting tax evasion in the fuel sector, said Michalis Kyousis, president of the Greek Petrol Dealers’ Federation. In the Finance Committee of the Parliament, Mr. Kyousis stated that the effort to combat delinquency in the fuel sector is not only positive but also very necessary. “Large sums escape legal circulation, as a result of which legitimate businesses in the sector are affected, public revenues and, worst of all, the evaded taxes are distributed among legitimate taxpayers, businesses and consumers,” said Mr. Kyousis.

“There are articles that contribute to reduce, to limit delinquency in our industry. Of course, we all know that the main cause of violations, that is, the motivation, is the high tax on fuel, the high special taxes and the VAT. From there on and from the provisions, the concept of due diligence of trading companies and its extent needs specific clarification. In any case, however, where the company cannot exercise legal control over the legality of gas stations, it must inform the relevant state bodies. That’s why we are asking for support with technical means from the state auditing bodies”, said its president Federation of Petrol Dealers.

At the same time, however, Mr. Kyousis requested, after the passing of the bill, the issuance of the required ministerial decisions for the “categorization of penalties”.

“It is not possible for someone who falsifies, someone who smuggles, someone who uses unfair means and makes deliberate development of petroleum products, with solvents or with some other products, for which there is no excise duty or their difference is huge, to have the same penalties with someone who had made a mistake in the sample,” said Mr. Kyousis.

The Greek Petrol Dealers Federation proposed “holistic control of loading, handling, storage and disposal, from the refineries to the final consumer, using new technologies and control of the operation of the input-output system, in all sectors”.