In an article published in the monthly magazine “UNFOLLOW” I read that annual tax losses from smuggling marine oil in Greece, a country under EU/IMF/EIB supervision, is estimated at €500 million by the Customs Authorities, €1.5 billion by the ministry of finance, while the market estimates it at €3 billion (tax losses per year without counting penalties).
Allegedly, there are some 1,500 fuel tanks illegally storing smuggled oil in Greece, mostly located in Lavrion, 60km south of Athens.
This is the essence of the story and if one takes the ministry of finance's version, for the €1.5 billion tax evasion per year the corresponding VAT (at 23%) is €350 million. Considering the market estimates, the annual VAT losses (which concern both Greek and EU budgets) rise to €700 million per year.
In addition to this, one must consider that as Greece is not collecting these taxes, and with some €3 billion lacking from the national budget at the end of the year it then falls on the back of the EU support mechanism, meaning on the back of the citizens of the member states.
As to the famous Task Force of the European Commission, established in Greece on the initiative of president Jose Manuel Barroso in order to reform the administration and …save the country from catastrophe, as the Greeks say, “they sleep standing-up on their feet and they even pay for the hotel.”
Beneficiaries of this practice include, among others, ship-owners involved in bunkering services and certain refineries. Indeed, as ship-owners buy duty free diesel oil for refueling ships on route they deviate and sell it illegally to others, thus ending up in the 1,500 illegal fuel tanks. From there the smuggled fuel is treated to change its colour (refineries are obliged to colour duty free oil differently) and is sold on the market. In this way, the marine fuel oil is smuggled to the market as diesel oil for road vehicles.
Since this procedure involves fuel tax and VAT losses it concerns both the Greek government and the European Commission.
However, it seems that the Commission maintains multifaceted privileged relations with the shipping industry. Indeed, on the one hand, it excludes shipping from participating in the Emissions Trade Scheme and CO2 taxation (as we recently reported: Shipping polluters avoid paying billions to EU, Kallas speaks, Hedegaard hears no evil, EU Budget loses,Commission and Shipowners: a “friendship” far from “teleia phillia” ), thus violating EU Directive 2009/29, which requires from the Commission to have already made a relevant proposal. On the other hand, it seems that it also disregards the smuggling of marine diesel involving Greek refineries and shipping companies.
In the magazine “UNFOLLOW” published in Athens, the story appears in page 66 of the issue February 2013 and we can e-mail a scan of it to the Commission and to others who might be interested.
I do not know who and why in the European Commission is serving the interests of the shipping industry by not applying community legislation. This is a matter that the Commission should urgently investigate.
However, we would like to address a question to president Jose Manuel Barroso along with commissioners Siim Kallas and Connie Hedegaard and ask how they justify the two cases, one involving refineries, bunkering and smuggling of marine fuel in Greece (causing EU budget losses) and the other concerning carbon dioxide taxation in international maritime transport (again causing EU budget losses).
Last but not least, we raise this issue as the 27 heads of states and governments come to Brussels to decide the budget, when every billion counts!
As to the role of the European Commission as guarantor of the treaties and European legitimacy, it seems that recently it has become a matter of philosophical brainstorming than anything else.
Vassilis Koronakis
read more at http://www.neurope.eu/article/eu-budget-loses-billions-marine-oil-contraband
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