With tankers blocking central roads in Nicosia, the outraged association of petrol station owners on Tuesday protested unfair competition from illegal imports of fuel from the north as the finance ministry said the protest served no purpose.
The looming end to fuel subsidies on June 30, has prompted fears that even more motorists will head to the north to buy cheaper fuel.
Tanker drivers from all over the island converged in Nicosia at the Ayios Dometios crossing point at 11am, from where after they continued to the presidential palace, demanding customers return or the government should introduce support measures for loss of business.
Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said the protest served no purpose as he had already met the association of petrol station owners, and they had decided customs officers will increase checks on illegal imports to the Republic.
In addition, it was agreed that the seizure of fuel from the north both at the crossing points and across the Republic will be announced and made public immediately to work as a deterrent.
President Nikos Christodoulides said all checks allowed by the Green Line regulations will take place.
“I want to be completely honest. Indeed there is a problem,” he said.
“I am very aware of the concerns, there is also the issue of unfair competition especially when it is used for commercial purposes. I understand when it is for private use, but when it is for commercial purposes it is something that is not allowed.”
The government has made clear that it is not illegal for Greek Cypriots to fill their tanks in the north, while they can also bring 10 litres in a Gerry can.
However, some have been transporting larger amounts of fuel in drums or in hidden tanks installed underneath vehicles, which they are then believed to sell on.
Warning letters, the minister said, will also be sent to all associations that have professional drivers to inform them of the stepping up of controls and the imposition of severe financial penalties.
The possibility of using modern technology to upgrade the effectiveness of controls will also be considered.
Speaking at the protest, head of the petrol station owners association Savvas Procopiou attacked statements made by Energy Minister George Panastasiou the previous day that individuals are allowed to fill up in the north.
“We completely disagree with the statement of the energy minister, he cannot say with such ease that the public should visit the occupied areas to buy petrol,” he said.
He noted that smuggling causes unfair competition.
Procopiou said customs officials detect illegalities, but “unfortunately, they stay in secrecy and are not made public. We demanded that the illegalities and the fines and punishments be made public, as an example.
“Everything stems from the big price difference that exists in the occupied territories with our petrol stations and we are not responsible for that,” he added, stating that the issue of price is the responsibility of the state and fuel importers.
“We want this difference to be reduced so that our fellow citizens do not go to the occupied territories just [to put petrol],” he said.
Trucks blocked roads and caused traffic jams across the capital as they protested.
Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said the intention of the government is to find a solution to the issue of fuel from the north.
The decisions of the government, he reiterated are to strengthen the presence of customs officials at checkpoints and intensify controls.
Papanastasiou said the phrase “out of necessity” in the Green Line regulation is understood to mean the movement of the product for commercial purposes is prohibited.
Photos: Christos Theodorides and CNA
“This is smuggling and this will be dealt with through penalties,” he said.
Asked if the phrase “out of necessity” can be exploited, Papanastasiou said the concept has been manipulated and many go to the north to buy fuel and return to the free areas.
“It’s up to each of us to decide whether what we’re doing is the right thing to do,” he said.
With the checks carried out at crossing points there is already information about the smuggling and trading of petroleum products, the minister said. “This is a criminal offence and those who commit it will be severely prosecuted,” he added.
Speaking on CyBC radio, Disy MP and House commerce committee chair Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis, acknowledged that the competitiveness of the Republic’s economy was being challenged by formal and informal trade across the Green Line, both legal and illegal.
The matter concerns environmental regulations as well as smuggling, Hadjiyiannis said, arguing that the quality of fuel products from the north is lower and should not be tolerated.
Ways must be found, the MP said, to carry out quality control to prevent these “subpar fuels” from ending up in the tanks of cars in the south.
As such, the minister of energy has the capacity to issue a decree banning the consumption of fuels which do not conform to the Republic’s adopted quality criteria.
There is therefore no need to broach the current legal framework for trade relations across the Green Line, the MP said.
Moreover, Hadjiyiannis called for the introduction of dyes in fuels to guarantee and control quality.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the ministry of finance had rejected the idea of continuing support measures and was instead in favour of increased staffing and steep fines.
But Akel MP Costas Costa, however, rejected the environmental concerns, saying that there was no case for using the ‘lower quality’ tag, because fuel brought in from the north is not significantly different to that sold in the Republic.
Efforts to put an end to smuggling must be stepped up, Costa said, adding that petrol dealers stand accused of profiteering at the expense of the public, when in fact the key culprit is the widespread import of illegal fuel.
The MP mentioned the effective use of drones by members of the British bases to uncover a fuel smuggling operation, noting, however, that the drone in question was one in use for catching songbird (ambelopoulia) poachers.
A detailed report from the auditor general sits before the committee, Costa said, and is to be reviewed. There is a 50c per litre difference in fuel price between the north and the south, he pointed out.
The return of the consumption tax with the end of subsidies means a price hike of 8.3 cents for petrol and diesel and 6.2 cents for heating oil.
However, according to the statistical service’s latest data in May 2023, total sales of petroleum products increased, reaching 122,581 tons up 1.4 per cent compared to May 2022.
Sales from petrol stations showed an increase of 4.3 per cent to 56,144 tons.
