site.btaChecks Find Violations at Less Than 1% of Filling Stations

Checks Find Violations at Less Than 1% of Filling Stations

Sofia, August 28 (BTA) - The country-wide checks, which the competent authorities conducted across all filling stations, found less than one per cent violations, said here on Friday Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski. He was presenting the results of checks of fuel quality and measuring devices' accuracy conducted by the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Surveillance and the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology.

Forty-eight per cent of the violations were at small filling stations and 52 per cent at the large fuel retailers. Sixty per cent of violations pertained to the quality of fuel dispensed, while the remaining 40 per cent consisted of broken seals at fuel flow meters.

The checks are continuing and are not a campaign, Loukarski said. Seven per cent of the fuel samples taken showed problems with the fuel quality.

Structural changes within the authorities supervising filling stations are being prepared, the Minister explained. One of the proposed ideas is to create a laboratory for controlling the software of measuring devices. The connection between servers and the National Revenue Agency (NRA) can not be controlled right now. According to Loukarski, there is doubt that the data submitted by filling station computers to the NRA are being manipulated by hackers.

The regulatory framework will be rid of legal loopholes. When fuel dispensers are repaired right now, a working seal is placed on them which is valid for seven days. After that time expires, there is a two-week deadline for putting a new, certified seal. In other words, there is a legal twenty-day loophole, which allows manipulations, Loukarski said. One of the proposed measures is to introduce a license regime for companies that place working seals, as well as to have them installed in the presence of the responsible authorities.

The current fine for wrong fuel measuring is 500 leva for the first offence and 1,000 for every other. These fines can be made up in just one work day, which is why their removal is proposed, Loukarski explained.