Shortly before the expiry of the so-called tank discount, the ADAC and the consumer protection centers warned against abuse of the tax relief by mineral oil companies. “Obviously, mineral oil companies are already creating a certain cushion,” said ADAC transport president Gerhard Hillebrand of “Bild am Sonntag” with a view to rising fuel prices.
The head of the Federal Association of Consumers, Ramona Pop, also criticized that competition in the fuel market only works to a limited extent. “The cartel office must therefore check carefully whether the mineral oil companies are not unjustly enriching themselves and, if necessary, imposing fines.”
The “tank discount” expires on the night of August 31st to September 1st. This temporary reduction in energy tax to the minimum level specified by the EU has been in effect since June 1, together with the 9-euro ticket, in order to relieve consumers of energy prices. Recently, according to the ADAC, fuel prices had risen again slightly – after a week-long downturn and short-term stagnation.
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The prices could rise again significantly when the measure ends – arithmetically by around 35 cents for petrol and 17 cents for diesel. However, the ADAC does not initially expect a sharp increase, because petrol station operators will also buy cheaper thanks to the discount. It can therefore be assumed that they will fill up their fuel tanks before September 1st and continue to sell petrol and diesel at a reduced price in order to gain a competitive advantage.
Hans-Joachim Rühlemann, CEO of the North-East Association of Garages and Gas Stations, on the other hand, according to “Bild am Sonntag”, expects prices to jump by 35 cents (petrol) and 17 cents (diesel) at midnight After the introduction of the tank discount, the gas stations soon had to sell the fuel that they had bought at higher prices cheaper,” said Rühlemann. “They will now compensate for these losses by selling the cheaper fuel they bought at normal prices.” According to the newspaper, President Andreas Mundt said that “we will take a very close look at what happens if the tax reduction ends on September 1”.
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