Fuel decree
There has been a lot of talk about the fuel decree in recent weeks and it is not surprising, considering how delicate the subject has been lately: the entire energy market is in a phase of great turmoil and consumers have been negatively affected by it both on household bills and when they go to the petrol station, with fuel prices comfortably back above €1.80 per liter after the temporarily removed excise duties were reintroduced.
The Senate's final approval for the fuel decree it has arrived; the decree has set itself the objective of reducing price speculation and does so by introducing a series of new obligations that petrol pump operators will be obliged to comply with, under penalty of fines that can vary from 200 to 2000 € with the possibility of suspension of the activity from 1 to 30 days in case of repeated violations.
Among the novelties we have the introduction of a sign that indicates the regional average price of fuel in each service station, so that it can be immediately compared to the price charged; in the case of motorway petrol stations, the average price shown must be the national one. Thanks to the fuel decree, the much talked about mobile excise duty will also be introduced, a tool by which it will be possible to very easily introduce or remove excise duties on petrol in proportion to how much fuel prices are increasing or decreasing.
Finally, although the iOS and Android app stores are already full of them, the Government has decided to create a special application for price control by citizens, who will be able to consult the price of petrol and diesel of a specific distributor without having to bear in person; it will be interesting to see the final result of this application, given that there are competing products on the market that have been in continuous development for several years.
The fuel decree continues to cause discussion due to the stance it has towards the petrol pump managers, who at the end of January had also called for a general strike to protest against this measure.