The strengthening of the Customs at roadblocks so that those who commit fuel smuggling can be identified and punished is the measure decided by the Government to deal with the phenomenon, as stated today by the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Giorgos Papanastasiou.
In his statements on the sidelines of the press conference of the EAC for the 2022 report, Mr. Papanastasiou said that the intention of the Government is to find a solution to the issue of fuel from the occupied territories, after the reactions of the Stockholders as well.
The internal decisions of the Government are how the presence of the customs office at roadblocks will be strengthened and controls will be intensified, said the Minister and clarified what the Green Line Regulation allows. As he said, when a vehicle needs fuel in the occupied territories, it can be supplied and go to the free areas.
Mr. Papanastasiou said that the phrase "out of necessity" is indicated in the Green Line regulation and it is understood that the movement of the product from the possessions for marketing purposes is prohibited. "This is smuggling and this will be dealt with through penalties," he said.
Asked if the phrase "out of necessity" can be exploited, Mr. Papanastasiou said that there are many definitions of out of necessity, and in this case the concept has been manipulated and many of our fellow citizens go to the occupied territories to buy fuel and return to the free areas. "It's up to each of us to decide whether what we're doing is the right thing to do," he said.
Asked about the "name and shame" tactic in the cases of companies that supply fuel from the occupied territories, the Minister said that some of his statements yesterday on this matter had been misinterpreted. "With the controls that will be carried out by the customs at the roadblocks, we will detect and there is already information about the smuggling that takes place and the trading of petroleum products from the occupied territories in the free areas. This is a criminal offense and those who commit it will be severely prosecuted", as he said, the fuel is bought from the occupied territories as tax-free and sold to the Republic as taxable.
Asked what was misinterpreted, Mr. Papanastasiou said that initially, while it was specified to indicate someone or the company that committed the offense in the context of "name and shame", there are issues of personal data and thus what has been identified and what was the penalty imposed.
Source: KYPE