Gasoline excise decree: who disputes and who applauds
The fuel decree introduces obligations and fines for distributors and a "mobile excise" mechanism to lower prices. Gas station operators' associations protest; the (pro-government) economists defend Meloni. All the details
The so-called "fuel decree" entered into force on Sunday 15 January, i.e. a decree-law to improve transparency on petrol and diesel prices – which have increased significantly since the beginning of the year due to the non-renewal of the discount on excise duties – and to strengthen the supervisory and sanctioning powers of the Guarantor for price surveillance, which are currently rather limited.
THE DECREE OF JANUARY 10
The provision that was published on Saturday in the Official Gazette is different from the decree-law approved by the government on January 10 and referred to as the "Decree on the transparency of fuel prices".
However, this text contained a series of similar measures – such as the obligation for fuel retailers to communicate the price they charge, as well as displaying the national average daily price calculated by the Ministry of Enterprise, under penalty of sanctions – for contrasting the alleged " speculation” which, according to various government ministers, would be the cause of the rise in petrol and diesel prices.
In reality, as communicated by the Ministry of the Environment itself, the increase in fuel prices is substantially in line with the increase in excise duties.
THE RULES FOR DISTRIBUTORS
The final decree-law provides for fines ranging from 500 to 6,000 euros for those petrol stations which, within a fortnight, will not display the regional average price alongside that charged by them. However, it is not uncommon for petrol and diesel to have higher prices at the pump in remote areas, which have higher logistics costs and generally lower throughputs.
"After the third violation" of this provision, the decree reads, "the suspension of the activity may be ordered for a period of not less than seven days and not more than ninety days".
THE MOBILE EXCISE
The decree also reintroduces the so-called "mobile excise duty", a mechanism devised in 2007 by the then Prodi government which provides for the lowering of excise taxes on fuel in the event of a sharp increase in crude oil prices in the previous two months. The measure will be financed precisely with the higher revenues guaranteed by the petrol tax.
The threshold value established for the activation of the mobile excise duty is approximately 2 euros per liter for petrol in self-service mode.
THE CRITICISM OF THE PETROL ASSOCIATIONS
FAIB, Fegica and FIGISC, the three trade associations that represent the interests of 22,500 area and service station managers, have criticized the fuel decree and, more generally, the government's communication, which effectively accused petrol stations of speculating on prices of petrol through unjustified increases.
"From the decree", declared the associations, quoted by Corriere della Sera , "we expected openings that did not take place and instead very high penalties arrived for a measure such as that of prices on cartels which is useless".
Bruno Bearzi, president of the FIGISC, said that the government "has listened to us on the average prices calculated on a regional basis and on the stop to daily communications", but the decree continues "to identify managers responsible for the distortions of the system assigning us further burdens and above all further heavy penalties".
"We are very dissatisfied, the judgment is negative, there is nothing in the decree that can lower the price of fuel," said Fegica secretary Alessandro Zavalloni, quoted by the press . "The official data from Mister Prices [the informal name of the Guarantor for price surveillance, ed .] state that there has been no speculation".
With regard to mobile excise duty, Zavalloni said that "if the cut occurs when the price exceeds 1.5 euros per liter, it makes sense, if instead the bar is set at two euros, it's a different story."
A strike by petrol stations was announced for 25 and 26 January.
WHO ARE THE ECONOMISTS WHO APPROVE THE GOVERNMENT LINE
Vittorio De Pedys, professor of economics and finance at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, explained to AGI that the Meloni government has taken "the correct decision" in eliminating the discount on excise duties, "which is worth over 700 million a month and until November it cost 7-8 billion. It did well because the price of gasoline allows it and because those billions can be directed to other things. As the Parliamentary Budget Office has pointed out, since the cut is linear, the richest part of the population benefits the most. The resources have instead been diverted towards the most suffering groups with the intervention on bills and pensions”.
Cesare Pozzi, professor of industrial economics at LUISS, told the agency that “the blanket is short” for a cut in excise duties, which is “difficult to manage, replacing it with another tax levy. The levy remains unchanged and it cannot be cut ex ante , but only afterwards if the price of fuel increases again". Pozzi – who helped draw up the manifesto of the Brothers of Italy in view of the elections, and last year participated in the party's programmatic conference – added that "the government had spoken of sterilization rather than cutting: it is a delicate issue for public finance. It does not intend to increase the resources taken from fossil fuels, but this does not mean reducing them […]. Sterilize the excise duty is consistent; if the cost of petrol increases, the government will only be able to intervene”.
Also according to Gian Piero Joime, professor of environmental economics at the Guglielmo Marconi University, “the government has found itself having to make up for the expensive bills and the blanket is short. Excise duties can be touched when the state has more revenue and can free up resources. A careful analysis of the high-priced fuel supply chain will have to be carried out, but now it could not be done otherwise. I think the correct measure has been adopted in the current context which saw families in difficulty". Joime has published a book with Altaforte Edizione, which defines itself as a "Sovereignist publishing house" and houses in its catalog a couple of titles on the current Minister of Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/decreto-carburanti/ on Mon, 16 Jan 2023 09:18:40 +0000.