The expensive fuel and the speculation effect after stopping the excise tax rebate end up on the table of the Council of Ministers. After the opening of the files by the Rome public prosecutor, the random checks by the Guardia di Finanza, the spotlights of the antitrust authorities with the close coordination of Mr. Prices, the guarantor for price surveillance and the more than 100 complaints filed by codacons in just as many. the dossier of “anomalous” prices at petrol pumps is today brought to the attention of the government for possible intervention. A turning point announced yesterday by the Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, from Brescia: “We will examine whether, in the face of war, expensive materials and raw materials, it is appropriate to intervene and whether there is money for it”. But the summit will also serve to take stock of who is using it. A comparison in the CDM that, not surprisingly, will follow a crucial summit to know the results of the controls, especially in the last few days since the increase in excise duties and VAT started on January 1st.
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In fact, today at Palazzo Chigi, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti will meet the General Commander of the Guardia di Finanza, General Giuseppe Zafarana, to take stock and evaluate any possible further action to deal with speculation about fuel prices to counteract. So the government’s line seems to remain one of striking a targeted blow at speculation, where it exists, without taking a step backwards when it comes to stopping the excise tax rebate decided last year by the Draghi executive. Not a position of principle, but an assessment of resources: the excise tax bonus costs a billion a month: too much to affect prices that should already benefit fully from the drop in oil prices.
THE CONTROL
Brent has fallen more than 25% in the past few weeks, and this billion has already found other avenues in their search for resources to support the most struggling families and businesses.
In fact, the monitoring of diesel and petrol began last March, when the antitrust authorities launched the first investigations into the Livigno case. Just yesterday, the Guardia di Finanza announced that last year, since March, they had found 2,809 violations of price discipline at petrol stations in 5,187 checks carried out. The decisive tightening of the controls at the end of the year then came with the corrective measures for the excise duties and with some listings that had gotten out of control up to over 2.5 euros for diesel at some dealers.
A more accurate snapshot of prices today comes from the average weekly self-service quotes to be released today by the Department for Environment and Energy Security. Meanwhile, there are indications from the website Quotidiano Energia, which reports that the average price of petrol in self-service mode has risen to 1,821 euros per liter (1,814 as of 5 January). With the average price of the self-propelled diesel is 1,879 euros per liter (compared to 1,875). When filling up “served”, on the other hand, petrol costs 1,965 euros and diesel costs 2,023 euros. The prices on the Autobahn are even higher. In this case, petrol when served increases to 2,171 euros, in self-service the liter costs 1,912 euros. On the other hand, diesel costs 1,963 euros per liter for self-service and 2,223 for serviced vehicles on the Autobahn. But as already underlined, the smart ones that Salvini pointed the finger at are well over 2 euros. The same threshold that the Minister for Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, indicated as the turning point between increases due to excise and increases due to speculation.
THE IMPACT ON FAMILIES
And while the managers defend themselves by blaming only the increase in excise duties, the Codacons has made some calculations on the impact on families: “A full tank of petrol costs 8.9 euros more than at the end of December.” “214 euros per driver» per year. The National Consumers’ Association speaks of an increase of “9 euros and 15 cents for a 50-liter tank”. In addition to the 18.3 cents more excise duty per liter that arrived on January 1, according to some experts, the adjustment effect in view of the import ban on refined products from Russia from February 5 was reflected in the increases. Europe will be missing 30% of its diesel.
However, consumer associations accuse energy companies and distributors of exploiting the increases due to the end of price maintenance in order to add further hidden increases. A suspicion shared by the Meloni government, which has decided to tighten controls and sanctions. According to Enterprise Minister Adolfo Urso, the time has come to bring together consumer associations “for a comparison of the most appropriate tools”.
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