What is happening on the Ukrainian fuel market? Domestic gas stations managed to cope with the fuel crisis in the first months of a full-scale war, but faced a new challenge - tax pressure. And for ordinary drivers, the number one issue remains gasoline prices. How was the price that changed from it formed before the invasion and what to expect in the coming months?
A short excursion into history:
Before the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, Ukraine imported about 60% of oil products mainly from Belarus and Russia. The entire logistics chain took place mainly by sea or rail. At that time, Ukrainian traders had no idea that they would have to completely switch to fuel from the EU, which would need to be transported by road.
“When imports from the north from the east were stopped and the Kremenchug oil refinery and other oil depots were destroyed by the enemy, our operators were forced to build these new logistics routes and they are absolutely all new, 97% of the traditional routes that were fuel delivery channels last year. is currently missing. Because we no longer import from Belarus and Russia, our seaports are blocked,” comments Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko.
What changed with the start of the war?
Currently, experts claim that Ukraine receives fuel from different parts of the world: Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and the Netherlands. And the route is much more difficult. For example, take neighboring Poland. From the oil refinery in Plock, the distance to the Ukrainian border alone is almost half a thousand kilometers.
It should be noted that all these agreements and logistics routes with Europe simply did not exist as of February 24, 2022. Therefore, when the enemy began to launch massive attacks, including on oil depots, almost every Ukrainian was faced with hours-long queues at gas stations, restrictions on the sale of fuel from 10 to 20 liters and price tags of 60-70 UAH per liter.
The Ukrainian fuel market was not ready for war, and it took time to resolve the situation.
Of course, our state could not stand by; it also had to influence the crisis. For example, green corridors were created that allowed fuel tankers to pass without queuing.
“In fulfillment of the tasks of the leadership of the state and government, border guards, together with customs representatives, ensure uninterrupted and priority passage of vehicles transporting fuel. In particular, interaction was carried out with representatives of neighboring countries, who also attended the meeting, and also accept vehicles transporting gasoline and diesel out of turn,” says Roman Pavlenko, head of the press service of the western regional department of the State Tax Service.
The government has introduced other benefits to overcome the fuel crisis in Ukraine. For example, the Cabinet of Ministers imposed a moratorium on inspections, which at that time significantly weakened, among other things, the work of the gas stations themselves, which operated almost uninterruptedly.
But these tax “vacations” did not last long.
Despite the war, fiscal officials soon began to strictly control those who sold fuel. According to official statistics from the State Tax Service of Ukraine over the past year and a half, based on the results of control and verification work in the period from 02/24/2022 to 07/31/2023, penalties (financial) were applied for violation of legal requirements by business entities in the field of production, storage and sale of fuel. sanctions totaling more than UAH 733 million.
In addition, in 2022, 4,300 gas station licenses were canceled, and in the first six months of 2023 - already 2,600.
“For those who ended the war and everything returned, and the first to be included in the inspection plans are those who sell excisable goods, namely large gas stations. We know that the tax authorities do not leave the enterprise without any fines. Is it worth applying draconian fines to some small gas station? Of course, it will not survive after this,” comments Vice President of the Ukrainian National Committee Dmitry Alekseenko.
How does this tax activity affect the gas station business?
The editors of StopCor sent at least 20 requests to representatives of various gas station chains throughout Ukraine to hear their opinion regarding fines from the tax office during the period of a full-scale invasion. It is obvious that it is still very difficult for everyone to work during the war. It turned out to be extremely difficult to hear answers to specific questions, but we managed to get one detailed answer.
“According to the answer that was provided to us, in February 2022, a rocket hit one of the AMIS gas station networks. The facility was restored and put back into operation. It is logical that everything was replaced, including cash registers. reported electronically, but not on paper. And it was for this that the gas station received a fine in the amount of the cost of refueling and a revoked license. And there are many such examples,” notes Alexander Serbin.
“There is a register of technical equipment, each gun, pump, measuring device has its own number, and this number must be in the register database. But every day there are breakdowns somewhere, we replace something, everything needs to be not repaired in a timely manner, but entered into this register in a timely manner. If they are not included in the register, there will be a huge fine again. There is no such register in any country, because no one needs it,” comments the general director of the AMIC ENERGY gas station network in Ukraine, Audris Stropus.
And this is just one example, but according to State Tax Service statistics there are thousands of them.
And to prevent this from happening, in Europe, in particular, the tax system works in a completely different way.
“There is a business that runs its own business, it may make mistakes, it may not make mistakes, it somehow manages it for itself. In business there are accountants who take all this into account. There are certified specialists. This certified specialist makes sure that sufficient accounting is kept, he bears criminal responsibility for this, he makes reports on financial results and calculates the taxable base,” says tax expert Arsentiy Lyashenko.
But market insiders assure that such a system is not being implemented in Ukraine in order to leave room for corrupt transactions.
It is worth mentioning the gas station price tags in the fall of 2022. At that time, fuel cost, according to the Ministry of Finance, 50 hryvnia. For now, drivers are forced to pay 5 hryvnia more. Of course, this was influenced by the VAT refund from 7 to 20% and the excise tax. But, as experts say, the state was forced to return them.
“Why did they return it now? Because the budget needs filling. Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Finance, cannot cope with financing the army. The cost of any product, almost all products, includes both fuel and transportation, so this step entails inflation. It's not clear. whether such a step is justified? If you ask me, I would still wait for the return of such duties at least until the end of the war,” emphasizes Dmitry Alekseenko.
So, are such steps by the state justified? We continue to research this important topic and are already preparing the next series of investigative journalism.
Let us remind you that after the Russians blew up the Kremenchug oil refinery, Ukraine was left virtually without its own oil refining. In addition, logistics have undergone significant changes, as fuel is mainly imported from Europe. Is there a chance to return prices to pre-war levels? And on whom and what does the cost of energy products generally depend? Audris Stropus, General Director of the AMIC Energy gas station network in Ukraine, told StopCor in an exclusive interview.
