Yesterday, the Economy Committee, with the votes of the ruling coalition, approved amendments to the Energy Law that introduce the obligation to label fuel, while they and the relevant Minister Admir Šahmanović rejected all objections from the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Oil Companies.
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Yesterday, the plenary session concluded the debate on this law and amendments, and the deputies will vote on it later.
The government adopted 19 amendments to the Energy Law on Friday without public debate, which completely add a new chapter on fuel marking. The proposed amendments impose marking costs on importers, but are considered justified costs that are included in the retail price of fuel for consumers.
At the meeting of the Economic Committee, Chamber of Commerce representative Vladimir Klikovac said that the entire new chapter of the law on marking is being proposed without a public debate, that there is a lack of economic analysis, an assessment of costs to the economy, and an analysis of potential negative consequences.
He also stated that the government is being urged to propose this measure to allegedly reduce fuel smuggling, but that it has not provided any data on its existence. Klikovac pointed out that in 2024, the collection of excise duties and VAT on fuel increased by 12 percent.
In response to the MP's statement that marking would improve fuel quality, Klikovac said that 96 percent of fuel is imported from the EU, that 2020 fuel samples were taken from 2023 to 13, and that only three samples were found to be non-compliant and were not released into circulation.
Klikovac said that in Croatia, an EU member, only special fuels for heating, agriculture, and maritime transport that are exempt or have lower excise duty are marked. He stated that it is pointless to mark fuel that has been legally imported with full payment of all duties.
He said that marking would create large costs, especially for traders who import fuel by road, that there would be logistical problems, and that the marking technique and technology had not been explained.
"It is primarily in our interest that the market be completely clean and legal, and we doubt that there is such a large black market for petroleum products."
"According to government estimates, the state is expected to gain between five and 14 million euros from suppressing the gray market, which, in a conservative estimate, if it were five million, would mean that 11 million liters of fuel are sold illegally in Montenegro annually," said Klikovac.
Secretary of the Association of Oil Companies, Draško Striković, said that there is no unfair distribution that this aims to combat, that the import procedure is complicated and there is inequality between importers who import by road and those who import by sea, and that the procedures will take days.
He also stated that European oil companies operating in Montenegro are opposed to this method of marking.
Bosniak Party MP Mirsad Nurković said that he was not informed, but that "rumors are circulating" that fuel in Montenegro is not at the level of that in the EU, and that he had heard information that there is an illegal market.
Striković stated that the marking is not related to the quality of the fuel, but to the alleged prevention of smuggling.
"If the fuel is of poor quality and a marker is stuck in it, it will remain of poor quality. Who benefits from selling poor quality fuel because they will lose customers," said Striković.
Šahmanović promised that the procedure would take about ten minutes and cost a third of a cent.
Minister Šahmanović said that marking reduces the space for the gray economy.
"I am not competent to assess whether smuggling exists. The Fiscal Strategy assessed that there is a need, and the Customs Administration assessed that there are examples of such smuggling," said Šahmanović.
He disagrees that it is a hasty solution, and that a similar proposal was discussed two years ago, after which the proposal was not adopted.
"Why wasn't there a discussion again? I think we're discussing too much, it's important that we start working," said Šahmanović.
He promised that marking would take about ten minutes, that it would cost a third of a cent, that the quality of the fuel would be improved, and that two types of markers would be used.
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