Bogdan Tudorache
The Competition Authority considers that the increase in the oil royalties level will intensify the competitive pressure in the market, while no barriers to the import of motor fuels are created in Romania, according to the institution.
At the same time, the Competition Council calls for the urgent adoption of a normative act regulating the legal status of the lands made available to economic operators in the context of privatization and for which no certificates of ownership have been obtained, as is the case OMV Petrom. As a result, they used the land without the state receiving shares or the use tax or rent.
By this normative act, the economic operators concerned will be obliged to draw up the necessary documentation for obtaining the ownership certificate within a maximum of one year after the entry into force of the law, the value of the land to be recorded as a contribution in kind of the state to the capital of those companies. Also, companies will be required to pay to the public authorities the value of the land use for the period between the enactment of the law and the increase of the share capital with the corresponding value, as well as for the past (the period from privatization to the entry into force of law), a draft law to this effect being in the resort ministry’s analysis.
“The Competition Council further maintains that the level of competition could be increased by improving the authorization process for the construction of the distribution stations and the entry of hypermarkets/ supermarkets into the fuel market.
The Competition Authority also recommends that the competent authorities (CNAIR, ANAP) consider modifying the legislation so as to avoid situations where a company operating a station on a motorway section builds another station located before or after the initial station. This will stimulate competition at the local level and the consumer will be able to choose the most advantageous offer.”
At the same time, the Competition Authority encourages companies to inform of any entry barriers that they face, so that they can be analyzed and, where appropriate, identify possible solutions to facilitate entry on the retail fuel market.