The ordinance adopted by the government on Thursday provides for capping the commercial addition at the 2025 average level for the entire chain - from refining to sales, exports of diesel and crude oil only with the authorities' consent and fines of up to 10% of turnover for those who fail to comply with these rules, according to Hotnews.
The measures adopted by declaring a state of crisis on the fuel market will be in force from April 1 to June 30, with the possibility of extension.
A new set of measures in the fuel crisis is expected to be announced next week, with the government now considering lowering the excise duty on fuel.
What the fuel ordinance says
The Government has announced that the period of application of these measures may be extended successively for periods of up to 3 months, as long as the circumstances that led to the crisis persist”. The impact of the implementation of the legislation will be assessed periodically to allow the measures to be adjusted in line with market developments.
The Emergency Ordinance adopted today by the Bolojan Government mainly sets out the following measures:
It limits the mark-up applied by economic operators producing, importing, distributing and/or marketing gasoline, diesel fuel to the average value of the mark-up applied in 2025 by each economic operator. Exports and intra-Community deliveries are exempt. „The measure is intended to discourage possible inappropriate behavior by economic operators and potential speculative tendencies that would lead to unjustified price increases for these products”. The average annual value of the trade surcharge for the year 2025, as well as the calculation that determined the value, shall be communicated to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration. The method of communication shall be established by order of the President of ANAF issued within 3 working days from the date of entry into force of this Ordinance. Within 5 days from the date of publication of the order of the President of ANAF, the economic operators shall communicate the average annual value of the commercial addition.
In the case of finding commercial additions above the limits set out in the normative act, fines ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the turnover realized in the previous year will be imposed.
It introduces the possibility for economic operators to reduce the biofuel content of gasoline volumes placed on the market from 8% to a minimum of 2% for gasoline during the period of application of the protective measures. „The application of this measure avoids the risk that economic operators would have difficulties in simultaneously securing the necessary volumes of fuel and meeting the biofuel content requirements, which would lead to disruptions in the supply of the internal market”.
In order to ensure domestic consumption needs, the export of diesel and crude oil will be carried out only after obtaining the consent of the ministry in charge of economic affairs and the relevant ministry. Specifically, during the crisis situation, the conclusion and/or execution of export and/or intra-Community delivery contracts for diesel and crude oil may be carried out by economic operators only with the prior written consent of the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism and the Ministry of Energy. Obtaining a prior consent for the realization of intra-community exports/sales of diesel and crude oil is determined by the existence of a structural imbalance in the national market of petroleum products, characterized by a surplus of gasoline and a deficit of diesel. This condition will be further regulated by a procedure for issuing the respective agreement by order of the Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism and the Minister of Energy.
Exports made without the necessary permits will be sanctioned with a fine between 5% and 10% of the turnover, as well as with the complementary measure of confiscation of goods intended for, used or resulting from the contravention.
The Emergency Ordinance also contains some changes regarding the natural gas market.
According to the government, their aim is to:
- Elimination of legal ambiguities and the risk of inconsistent interpretation;
- Ensure the correct delimitation of public institutions;
- Avoiding malfunctions in the implementation of the gas allocation mechanism;
- Prevent imbalances between market participants;
- Reducing the risk of disputes arising from unclear application of legal provisions
In the absence of these legislative interventions, there would have been risks to the continuity of supply to consumers and operational bottlenecks in the gas market.
The main changes on natural gas are:
- Establishing a clear mechanism for the proportional distribution of available quantities according to the estimated consumption of each supplier's customers;
- Introduce detailed provisions on the breakdown of quantities by categories of consumption;
- Establishing explicit rules for calculation, including: determination of minimum stocks, calculation of differences between estimated consumption and allocated quantities, recalculation of quantities according to changes in consumption;
- Regulating a regular recalculation and adjustment mechanism, based on data submitted by market operators;
- Establishing obligations on data transmission and updating between producers, suppliers and competent authorities.
The normative act adopted by the Government also sets up a mechanism for verifying the application of these provisions by state institutions, and, in case of violation of the measures, a set of contraventions that will be enforced.
Thus, for the implementation of this emergency ordinance, economic operators, natural or legal persons, are obliged to submit monthly to the Competition Council, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, the National Authority for Consumer Protection and the Ministry of Energy, within 20 calendar days from the end of the reporting month, reports on the implementation of the provisions of the normative act, including data and information on the prices charged.
At government level, the working group set up to identify and promote solutions to protect citizens and the economy in the context of the fuel crisis will continue to monitor the international situation and propose new measures adapted to the global situation.