The Government of Montenegro with amendments to the existing Law on Excise currently before the Parliament, that increases the excise tax on fuel, tries to replace tax on fuel that, for the need of building the highway, for months unlawfully collected from Montenegrin citizens and on that basis practically stole from them about ten million.
With the draft law, the Government planned to increase the excise taxes on all types of fuel used by citizens and businesses, but on the other hand does not give up the intention to provide fuel at a lower, privileged price to the companies involved in the project of highway construction.
Specifically, the Government plans to introduce a special excise tax that will be charged only on fuel spent for the construction of the highway and it will be lower than the excise on fuel purchased by others. In that way it is planned excise rate of 169 euro per thousand liters of fuel, despite the fact that in July of this year the Commission for the state aid that proposal of the Government marked as non-compliant with the Law on State Aid Control.
In fact, the Government in July provided to the Commission for the state aid changes to the law on excise duties, that defined the height of the excise tax on fuel for industrial and commercial purposes during import amounted to 350 euro per thousand liters, but especially for fuel that “imports and purchases performer of works for the construction of Bar-Boljare highway is 169 euro per thousand liters”.
The Commission then concluded that a legislative proposal does not comply with the Law on State Aid Control, because it is “prohibited operational assistance or aid that aims to reduce the current expenditure of a company that can not be deemed compatible with the internal market, unless it is granted to address the weaknesses of enterprises in the less developed regions”.
In the present case, the Commission concluded that it is a help that is given to support the realization of the ordinary activities of the company, which is why it is the cases of illegal state aid which distorts or may distort free competition in the market.
Despite such attitude of the Commission for the state aid, the Government almost the same thing again defined in the most recent legislative proposal which is currently before the members of the Parliament, in a way that provided that the excise tax for motor fuel “for the works on the highway project Bar-Boljare is 169 euro per thousand liters”.
In a situation where there is no independent control of the implementation of the highway project, the adoption of such a law will open the wide doors for abuses of the excise taxes. MANS in the past repeatedly warned that without adequate supervision will be impossible to establish the level of abuses, especially in the part of the subcontractors in the project of building the highway. They will have access to cheaper fuel, out of control that is fully spent only on the project highway, or the companies use it for the needs of their other projects.
Finally we remind that the Law on Excise Duties relates to material rights and obligations of citizens, and it is indisputable that on the plenum for its adoption will be needed a qualified majority, ie a majority vote of all deputies of the Montenegrin Parliament, and that any different majority is an extremely irresponsible attitude toward citizens and disrespect of the Montenegrin Constitution.
MANS invites the members of the Montenegrin Parliament not to support the Government’s draft law on amendments to the Law on Excise Duties, which is on the agenda of the session that began today, because its adoption would affect the higher price of fuel for consumers in the upcoming year.
MANS
