At the suggestion of the Executive Branch, Congress approved the proposal on March 15, but just yesterday the Department of Energy and Mines (MEM) released the regulation giving the green light to expected consumer aid, which was initially set to last two months.
The document sets out the procedures for applying Legislative Decree 20-2022, which provides a discount of five quetzales (0.65 cents on a dollar) per gallon of diesel and 2.50 quetzales (0.33 cents on a dollar) on regular gasoline.
Until yesterday, the reference price of the former was 38.29 quetzales ($4.99) and the latter was 37.60 quetzales ($4.90).
The subsidy will be applied in the product storage terminals and the change will be reflected in the shipping pumps according to the regulation.
In this sense, it clarifies that the temporary social benefit is transferred from the importer to the service station and finally to the consumer, always under the supervision of the Consumer Protection Directorate, the MEM, the Ministry of Economy and the Inspectorate of the Tax Administration.
The source of funding for this support will be the expansion of the current general government budget.
A verification team from these institutions conducts routine inspections or inspections based on complaints.
Last week, Alejandro Giammattei’s government introduced an extension of the social electricity tariff (from 88 to 100 kilowatt hours per month) to counter the rise in prices due to the national and global economic crisis.
A temporary subsidy for propane in cylinder demonstrations of 10, 20, 25 and 35 pounds has also been in place since the beginning of the month.
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