Extra-taxation of natural gas producers’ revenues has led to a rise in cheaper Russian imports, according to a report by the Court of Accounts on the performance of the domestic market.

“The audit noted that, during the audited period, the revenues generated by the natural gas producers from domestic production were additionally taxed, which could be one of the factors that led to the creation of a more favorable environment for gas imports from outside the EU, says the report quoted by cursdeguvernare.ro.

The most significant jump occurred in 2016, when the amount of imported natural gas (15.94 TWh) was over seven times higher than in 2015 (2.18 TWh). Then the import share increased to 13% of total natural gas consumption (124.14 TWh), from 2% in 2015, according to the cited source.

The surplus of the additional revenues of the gas producers from their domestic sales was imposed on 23 January 2013 as a temporary measure for the economic crisis, although at that time Romania’s economy was recovering.