Postponement of Fuel Act Enforcement Causes Rift among Employer Organizations

The Management Board of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIB) believes that the Council of Ministers' proposal to the National Assembly to postpone the entry into force of the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Involving Crude Oil and Petroleum Products will help clarify the business issues of the affected sectors and find acceptable solutions, according to a CEIB position circulated on Thursday.

The collective members of the CEIB include the Bulgarian Construction Chamber and the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology, as well as the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry.

The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) strongly opposes postponing the Fuel Act's entry into force by 6 months as proposed by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, the BIA wrote in an open letter to the media.

According to BIA and the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association (BPGA), such an action would be a further blow to the legality and the implementation of effective measures to fight the grey economy and smuggling. The employer's organization insisted that the Council of Ministers withdraw their proposal and rethink their overall conduct in connection to the creation of legislation and leave the legislative work in the hands of the National Assembly, as the Constitution of Bulgaria intended.

The members of BPGA also expressed their indignation that the delay has been proposed without consulting the affected branch.

"We believe that this is a purposeful attempt to redirect attention from smuggling, VAT fraud and other illegal schemes in the sector to the opposition of large and small businesses in the industry and restricting free competition. We state that this has never been the goal of the BPGA membering companies," the statement reads.

On this occasion, the BPGA insists on a meeting with the Prime Minister so that they can present their position on the subject.

BPGA is also disappointed by the actions of the CEIB, to which the association is a member. Due to CRIB's violation of their statute, the Management Board of BPGA decided to terminate their collective membership to CEIB at a board meeting on Wednesday, their statement said.
Source: BTA