Lukoil License Court Saga in Bulgaria Drags into November

Wednesday's session of the Administrative Court Sofia City postponed the two Lukoil trials for November 09. Photo by BGNES

The two trials for Lukoil's suspended tax warehouse operator permits at the Administrative Court Sofia City (ACSC) will continue on November 09.

The postponement was decided at a brief ACSC session Wednesday.

The technical expert statement assigned on 31 August is not ready yet and the expert witnesses have called for at least another 45 days to respond to the questions.

The document is to provide answers to the following questions: where must measuring devices be placed in the Burgas-based refinery and at the Rosenetz oil terminal; where have such devices already been mounted and where not; what is the normal deadline for the installation process and how much do they cost.

Lukoil had to pay a deposit of BGN 6000 for the preparation of the statement.

On July 22, Bulgaria's Customs Agency suspended Lukoil's licenses for two tax warehouses because of the company's failure to equip the facilities with the mandatory measuring devices providing a direct link to the tax authorities.

After lodging an appeal against the preliminary execution of the acts of the Customs Agency, the Neftochim refinery was allowed to stay in operation until the case was resolved with a verdict.

Lukoil's temporary production halt caused Bulgaria to tap state reserves for jet fuel for the airports in Varna, Burgas and Sofia.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov recently expressed optimism that the company would manage to install the devices by the end of the year, while Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov remained skeptical that the process could be wrapped up before mid-2012.

During a one-day visit to Sofia, Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov said Tuesday that the company was not in conflict with the Bulgarian government.

He described the current situation as "misunderstandings with some institutions on deadlines and on the technical difficulties surrounding the fulfillment of requirements set out in Ordinance #3" and said that Lukoil would invest USD 40 M to ensure compliance with the law.

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