Mugosha: Fuel Prices in Montenegro Could Have Been 10–12 Cents Lower

In line with the law, the government has the option to temporarily reduce excise duties on diesel and unleaded petrol even further, which would lower fuel prices by a minimum of 10 to 12 cents, said Boris Mugosha, head of the European Alliance parliamentary group.

Under the provisions of the existing law, adopted several years ago on the proposal of European Alliance MPs, the government may temporarily cut the excise on diesel and unleaded petrol by up to 50 percent — 26 cents for diesel and 32 cents for unleaded petrol, respectively.

He recalled that the government has currently cut excises by only 30 percent of the permitted 50 percent — 16 cents for diesel and 20 cents for petrol. Were it to cut an additional 20 percent, as the law allows, the new price of diesel would fall by 10 cents and that of petrol by 12 cents. Diesel would then cost 1.80 euros, while petrol would cost 1.64 and 1.60 euros per liter, respectively.

Fuel prices in Montenegro are among the highest in the region, Mugosha stressed. The price of a liter of diesel in Montenegro today is 56 cents, or 40 percent, higher than six months ago. From this difference, the state gains an additional 9.5 cents of VAT per liter. “We have proposed three measures to the government for further reducing fuel prices, but unfortunately none has been accepted so far,” Mugosha said.

Source: Vijesti