According to Guardia di Finanza, which carried out the necessary checks in January, four out of ten plants would present violations of price discipline. This was stated by Colonel Alberto Nastasia of the Guardia di Finanza during his hearing before the Productive Activities Commission of the Chamber relating to the transparency of fuel prices.
Fuel prices: controls by the Guardia di Finanza
“In the month of January alone, 2.518 operations were performed, contesting 989 violations of price regulations, of which 341 for failure to display and/or discrepancies in the prices charged with respect to those indicated and 648 for failure to notify the ministry". In percentage terms, 39,3% of distributors would not be in compliance on prices. This is the balance of the controls carried out by the Guardia di Finanza that Colonel Nastasia brought before the Production Activities Commission of the Chamber on the transparency of fuel prices. Nastasia specified that the Gdf has ordered "further intensification” of controls following what was established by the Government in the ambit of the transparency decree approved in mid-January. But already last year, the checks had been numerous: "during 2022, the departments of the corps carried out 5.187 interventions on the subject of fuel price transparency, contesting 2.809 violations of the related discipline".
Not only that, according to Nastasi, they were last year 450 million euro of excise duties evaded on fuels. On excise duties and VAT, specifically, 2.514 interventions were carried out last year, detecting 1.084 violations and referring 866 subjects to the competent judicial authority, 15 of whom were arrested.
The reaction of consumers' associations is tough: “The fact that 39,3% of petrol station attendants were fined, despite being under observation in January, attests to the widespread diffusion of irregularities. That's why it borders on the ridiculous that now the Government, instead of tripling them, lower the fines for those who do not communicate the prices to the ministry or expose them differently”, affirmed the Consumers' Union.
Government towards the modification of the transparency decree
In the meantime, the Government has said it is ready to amend the decree approved in January. The same provision rejected by the Antitrust which also triggered protests from petrol stations, culminating in the strike of 25 January. “We are available, on the basis of the solicitations that will reach Parliament, to possible further improvements always to guarantee transparency”, said the Minister of Industry and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso. The minister will meet the representatives of the petrol stations on 8 February, the day on which the meeting of the permanent table created two weeks ago is scheduled.
