Petrol station owners have threatened to up the stakes in the ongoing fuel row with the north as their legal team on Tuesday said they will report the Republic to the European Commission.

The core of their grievance is that the public is spending millions of euros each month in the north filling up on cheaper fuel – and the Republic is doing nothing to stop it.

“It’s not just the money but the acceptance on the part of the Republic of the illegalities which are taking place,” spokesman for the petrol station owners Christodoulos Christodoulou told Alpha on Tuesday.

The association’s lawyer, Alexandros Clerides, has argued that the Republic is not abiding by the Green Line Regulation – which sets out which goods and in what quantities may be traded between the two communities.

Clerides argues that buying petrol in the north is illegal as it is not listed as a permitted product in the regulation.

The government has previously been accused of looking the other way, wary of dealing with what could be a politically sensitive issue.

Christodoulou emphasised that there are many ways of checking the content of a vehicle’s fuel which will show whether it was purchased in the north, but that the customs department is not carrying out such checks.

“They don’t want to, there are two to three ways to check – something has to happen, this cannot go on any longer,” Christodoulou said.

He sought to emphasise that about six months ago parliament passed a bill which allows the government to check whether a vehicle’s fuel is in line with EU regulations. Christodoulou clarified that the bill does not refer to the north but that it is a measure which could help solve their issue.

“It’s been six months – why aren’t any checks being carried out?” Christodoulou complained.

But those calling for the checks have themselves come in for criticism, with many questioning how feasible such inspections would be. There are other practical concerns, such as whether Turkish Cypriots would be allowed to drive their cars across with fuel purchased in north.

The row has been rumbling on for years but a weakened lira and lower taxes on fuel in the north – compounded by the rising cost of living – has seen a surge in demand from those in the government-controlled areas for cheaper petrol. That has led to major queues at the various checkpoints to the north and at petrol stations over there.

“For the poor – we understand the difficulties they are facing, but it’s not just the least well off, it’s others who are in a good financial position and have expensive cars – everyone is taking advantage of it,” Christodoulou said.

He also questioned the quality of the fuel in the north: “We know what fuel they’re filling up with but the public doesn’t, and they will pay for it in the future.”

Head of the association of petrol station owners Stefanos Stefanou has previously told the Cyprus Mail that some stations have seen a reduction of up to 30 per cent in their sales.

In June 2018, the customs department said it would step up checks on vehicles at crossing points and seize fuel brought from the north, but the campaign has since seemingly fizzled out.

At the time, the department said that it is within their powers to stop and search vehicles and take samples for testing.

The department warned that vehicles could even be confiscated.