Galery

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One billion euro per year is the amount of the damage from fuel smuggling. The situation with fuel smuggling has been known for years but the skilful offenders always find new ways to take advantage of the lack of proper control and earn at the expense of the state and taxpayers.

Ethnos newspaper indicates 6 ways of illegal sale of petrol, diesel, heating oil and bunker fuel, as follows:

Diesel fuel for cars instead of for heating

This is a new trick used by the offenders to circumvent the obstacle with the alignment of the special consumption taxes. Thus, they can buy it 23% cheaper since VAT is deducted. Furthermore, they report the costs of fuel purchasing as costs incurred by the company, thus yielding a double benefit.

Diesel fuel for heating instead of for cars

When the single consumption tax on the first type of fuel was lower than that on the second type, companies, farmers and other smugglers used heating oil for their vehicles and agricultural machines.

Use of bunker fuel

Bunker fuel is not taxed, and its price is about half the price of diesel fuel for cars. So, instead of fuelling ships, the smugglers send the fuel to land.

Virtual export

The offenders load tanks or tankers for foreign countries and then have to secure the import/export stamping of the relevant documents at the customs, but the fuel does not leave the territory of Greece. Then subsequently they sell the tax-free fuel and profit from the taxes.

Impurities in petrol

They blend petrol with chemical products such as methanol, toluene and solvents.

Manipulated petrol pumps

Petrol stations owners manipulate the petrol pumps software thus robbing customers who refuel their vehicles as a result of which they pay for fuel quantities that have never entered the tank of their car.