Amendments to the Law on Excise, the Government of Montenegro intends that from citizens and businesses annually collect 15.8 million euros on the basis of the increased excise tax on fuel, as well as an additional 3.2 million euros for VAT on the basis of increased price of petroleum products.
This is a new attempt of the Government to unlawfully fill a hole in the Budget that is growing every day after the decision to enter into risky highway construction project. The Government has previously only for half a year practically stole from citizens close to ten million euros, the amount for paid illegal taxes on fuel.
MANS and back then warned that it was unconstitutional actions of the Government, and the Constitutional Court after the filing of our initiatives challenged the tax and declared it unconstitutional. Although the Constitutional Court had no choice but to declare the tax unconstitutional, by postponing its processing, the Government was able to, despite the fact that the tax was formally unconstitutional, even for while continues to illegally collect revenue from it. It speaks for itself that the Constitutional Court openly works to the detriment of citizens and, as such, does not represent any kind of protection of the public interest.
When it comes to illegally collected nearly ten million euros, the Government did not even considered to return them to citizens through reduced fuel costs in a given period of time, but now is trying that with the Law on Excise again to illegally reach its hand into the pockets of the citizens and to continue the old practice of shameless robbery.
The Draft Law on Excise is unconstitutional document in the part that favors one category of consumer of fuel, explicitly stating that double lower excise rate twould be applied to the fuel that is imported for the purpose of performing work on the highway, compared to all other consumers in the country. In this way, it is directly violatesdArticle 17 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which defines that “everyone is equal before the law, regardless of any specifics or personal experiences”.
More specifically than that, the Draft Law on Excise violates article 140 of the Constitution which stipulates that is”forbidden to obstruct and limit free competition and to encourage unequal, monopolistic or dominant position in the market”.
Unlimited quantities of fuel at a lower price for a narrow circle of privileged national companies, which will perform operations on the highway, is a direct violation of the above mentioned articles of the Constitution.
If Excise Law is adopted in this form, MANS will, immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro, submit to the Constitutional Court initiative to overthrow it, because from all presented arguments there is not the slightest doubt that it is unconstitutional document.
Taking into account the practice and efficacy in dealing of the Constitutional Court, MANS invites all members of the Parliament to vote against this law and show that that institution continues to violates control of the Government of Montenegro and takes care of the public interest.
MANS
