Fuel Mafia expanding
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
12.03.2015 13:56
While the government has introduced measures to control the Polish fuel industry, not only are they little affective, but are helping the black market to grow.
Photo: Flickr.com/Ian Burt
Not only is the Polish government failing in stopping the fuel cartels which are operating in the country, but many of the measures taken by authorities, are in fact helping these criminal activities grow in scope, says the Puls Biznesu daily.
Although the tax authorities are becoming more effective in controlling the fuel industry, the past year has been a good one for the crime syndicate.
Last year, the local tax authorities conducted 450 inspections in the fuel industry, and detected irregularities in the VAT and excise-tax submissions amounting to a record PLN 2.86 billion.
This figure, which roughly translates to just under EUR 700 million at current rates, is over double that in 2013.
However, experts estimate that the scale of fraud in the black market is much larger – from PLN 6 billion to as much as PLN 10 billion.
The problem, Puls Biznesu writes, is that the provisions introduced in 2013 which were meant to trample upon the so-called Fuel Mafia are in fact helping these criminals line their pockets. (rg)
Source: Puls Biznesu, PAP