(Finance) – Il TAR of Lazio annulled the decree with which the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy on 31 March established the methods for the obligation of operators to communicate fuel prices. The cancellation of the decree was motivated by the absence of the expected and prior communication to the President of the Council of Ministers and the opinion of the Council of State. The appeal proposed by was therefore accepted Fe.Gi.Ca. – Federation of Fuel and Related Plant Managers, FIGISC – Italian Federation of Road Fuel Plant Managersand by some operators.
THE recurring they argued among other things that the contested Decree imposed the fulfillment of “disproportionate, unjustly oppressive and unreasonable” obligations (of displaying and updating the average price), resulting in “an unjustified and unreasonable disparity in treatment to the detriment of a single category of operators (fuel distributors) in a regime of free competition compared to other economic entities in the same conditions”, and illegitimately imposing burdensome sanctions.
The TAR noted the “violation of the procedural rules for its adoption“, being “undisputed that, in the present case, both the prior communication to the President of the Council of Ministers and the prior opinion of the Council of State were lacking”.
In a note the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy he made it known that he had given a mandate toState Attorney’s Office to propose immediate appeal to the Council of State with a request for suspension of the effects of the ruling of the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, which provides for the annulment of the decree with which the methods of the obligation to communicate fuel prices by operators were established.
“Beyond the reasons of the TAR, which are formal and not based on merit, fortunately the annulment of the TAR will not cause any damage to consumers, given that, as demonstrated in the first period of application of the measure, the introduction of the average price has not in no way contributed to reducing prices, which instead continued in their usual trend, first rising in the first period of August and then falling subsequently, but following the same old dynamics and the usual double speed to the detriment of consumers”, he commented Maximilian Donapresident ofNational Consumers Union.
“Compared to the peaks recorded last September 25th, when the average petrol price reached 2,001 euros per liter at the self-service, today green petrol costs almost 8% less, with a saving of 7.8 euros per full tank for motorists – explained the president of Assoutients, Fury Truzzi – In the same period, diesel fuel decreased by over 5%, with savings of 5 euros per full tank. A descent also favored by the greater transparency guaranteed by the cartels with average prices, and we would not like the TAR’s stop to turn into a blow to citizens’ pockets, with sudden increases in price lists at the pump”.