Explanation of the Minister of Finance, Radoje Zugic, that the newest Government’s Decree on compensation for fuel has a foundation in the Law on Energy and Fiscal policy is just a continuation of manipulation that attempt to fully justify the illegal and unconstitutional introduction of another levy imposed on citizens to finance the Government’s harmful decisions.
The the Law on Energy, referred to by the Minister Zugic in article 173 is stated that the Government defines only way “of forming the maximum retail price of certain petroleum products and/or biofuel” as well as “the manner and terms of publication of those prices”, but no Article of this Law allows the Government the authority to, beside the Parliament of Montenegro, adopts decisions that impose on citizens new taxes and fees such as this on fuel.
In addition, even if in the Law on Energy stipulates that the Government of Montenegro can independently, beside the Parliament, adopt decisions on taxes and other charges, the Law on Energy would be at odds with the Constitution of Montenegro, which clearly defines that this kinds of regulations can be prescribe only by the law adopted in the Parliament of Montenegro.
When it comes to the state fiscal policy reffered on by the Minister Zugic, it must be fully compliant and based with Montenegrin laws and the Constitution which clearly defines that decisions on prescribing taxes and other charges are made in the form of laws and are adopted in the Parliament of Montenegro.
In this respect, the explanation of the Minister Zugic is completely unfounded and can not represent an excuse for breaking the law and the Constitution of Montenegro,
which will hopefully be recognized and by the Constitutional Court when deciding on initiative of MANS.
MANS today officially submitted to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro the initiative by which we warned that institution on violation of the Constitution of Montenegro and the fact that the Government exceeded its constitutionally defined authority when independently and arbitrarily made a decision on imposition of a new taxes in Montenegro.
MANS requested from the Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional the controversial Government’s Decree and put it out of force, and that by the time of making such a decision issues a command on the suspension of the execution of individual acts arising from such provisions, actually to prevent an increase the price of fuel for seven cents per liter.
We invite the Constitutional Court to urgently reconsider our initiative to prevent further impact on the budgets of the citizens of Montenegro and spiral increase in prices of goods and services whose formation depends on the price fuel.
Dejan Milovac
Director of the Research Center
MANS
