The Irish Petrol Retailers Association (IPRA) has welcomed the latest round of excise cuts, namely a further cut of 10cpl (incl. VAT) for petrol and diesel.
However, the latest cuts do not take account of stock that retailers may have bought prior to tomorrow (Wednesday 16th) when the reduction applies.
David Blevings, IPRA spokesperson said, “we have numerous members who find themselves in a difficult financial position. We have members who have purchased stock in the last few days that will now have to be sold at a loss once the lower rate starts to apply. We wrote to Minister Burke after the first excise cut pointing out the predicament of retailers and still await a response”.
“We have asked Government to support a plan to ‘credit’ retailers for fuel bought on the 22nd & 23rd March and the 14 & 15th April at the higher rate.
This would be a relatively simple procedure with retailers having electronic stock gauges and producing invoices for the said dates to Revenue for a rebate of the differential between the temporary rate introduced and the higher rate paid for the fuel prior to the reduction”.
“Fuel retailers operate on slim margins and there is real competition out there. This has been recognised by the Consumer Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) who reviewed the sector and stated, taken together, the examination of wholesale prices, retail prices and the review of the home heating oil and road fuel markets indicate that the price increases seen in recent weeks were not driven by competition issues, but rather by significant increases in international wholesale costs”.
“Our members do welcome the further cuts in excise but are frustrated that Government does not recognise the predicament they are in with existing stocks and would welcome engagement and a resolution sooner rather than later”, added David