Fuel support scheme, extended
The fuel price will further be subsidized.
Leyla Cheamil, 30.09.2022, 13:16
The Bucharest Government decided on Thursday to extend the fuel support scheme. Partners within the ruling coalition have decided to extend by another three months the period of granting this type of support. At the start of July, the Government initiated a measure to reduce the price of gasoline and Diesel by 0.5 lei. The measure, initially set to be lifted in September, has now been extended until the end of the year. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said the fuel support scheme had to be extended to counteract the negative effects that the hike in fuel prices has on living standards and on business operators. He also said that the measure had already yielded results, which translate into a decrease in the fuel price for the last three months. Moreover, this decision has sparked a chain reaction, from producer to consumer.
State Secretary with the Energy Ministry, Dan Dragan, said that business operators trading fuel to final customers, either physical persons or companies, and also to licensed business operators that purchase fuel from deposits and distribution centers, who offer a discount on the selling price of 0.5 lei per liter, VAT included, benefit a subsidy from the state budget of 0.25 lei per liter, VAT included.
Business operators selling gasoline and Diesel will display, for as long as this measure is in place, the discounted price, while the accounting system and the fuel pomp will display the selling price without the discount, Dan Dragan explained. He also said that the budget impact has so far been estimated at around 120 million euro and a similar value is expected for the next three months.
On Wednesday, the price of Diesel went down to below 8 lei per liter for the first time in six months, so that Romania currently has the sixth lowest price in the community bloc. The price of gasoline is also on a downward trend, standing at 7.15 lei per liter at present, down almost 12% as against its maximum level reached in July this year. Romania is the EU country with the 8th lowest fuel price. When the Government decided to subsidize the fuel price, at the end of June, gasoline cost 8.65 lei/liter and Diesel more than 9 lei per liter. (EE)
