They are investigating whether there is a situation in the Valencian Community.
The National Office for the Investigation of Fraud (ONIF), which is dependent on the Tax Agency, is working with Spanish antitrust authorities to investigate fuel fraud throughout the country. The scam revealed this Monday by Cadena Ser, which suggests that Its impact will be approximately 1,900 million euros per year.– which will also affect Valencian Community. And while it is unknown today what the exact impact of this “diesel mafia” will be, sources in the sector consulted by this newspaper confirm that Investigations are being carried out on this matter at some petrol stations in Valencia..
“Strange” situations
At the moment, interviewed by this newspaper, the above-mentioned sources indicate that some “strange” situations were discoveredbut exclude further comments on this matter until the completion of the investigation into the conspiracy, which has been ongoing for more than a year and which, as the above-mentioned media stated yesterday, has already caused The Ministry of Finance sent up to 400 requests to service stations across the country. demanding clarification of the amount of VAT payment. But how was this conspiracy created, which could influence, according to estimates, every fourth liter of diesel sold in Spain?
A man is filling up the tank of his car, pictured. / Europe Press
In particular, the focus is on already refined diesel fuel, which is actually imported from countries such as Syria, Russia or Iran. However, since these countries have export restrictions, the nationality of the fuel changes and It is believed to have been loaded, unloaded and processed in countries such as Türkiye or Morocco. The scam continues from “ghost operators” who sell this fuel to gas stations and disappear within three months. The price they sell it for is so low that The difference can be as much as 40 or 60 cents compared to legalized diesel fuel.which makes gas stations buy, although many do not know where it comes from.
Implications for sellers and consumers
As a result, those gas stations that purchase counterfeit diesel fuel They offer cheaper prices than those who buy from traditional suppliers.. Therefore, many traditional stations are forced to close or become independent operators.
For consumers, the effect is related to price: for example, in the case of filling a 50-liter tank, this could mean savings from 10 to 20 euros. Users do not suffer directly from fraud, as can happen to service station owners.
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