Bulgaria's Lukoil Refinery to Meet State Demands by Jan 15 - Customs Head

Customs Agency Director Vanyo Tanov has said that he expects Lukoil to ensure compliance with Bulgarian legislation by mid-January 2012. Photo by BGNES

Vanyo Tanov, head of Bulgaria's Customs Agency, has assured that all excise duty leaks in cigarette sales have been plugged.

In a Monday interview for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), he explained that the higher cigarette excise rates had led to a reduction in smoking rates.

The head of Bulgaria's customs authority also announced that 8 new anti-smoking scanners were yet to be put into operation.

Tanov vowed the of the facilities would be a game-changer for 2012 because it would render cigarette smuggling from Greece impossible.

He further boasted that state revenues from the taxes imposed on illegal alcohol had gone up by over two and a half times in one year and a half, while 2011 had witnessed a 40% increase.

The overall increase in excise duty revenues for 2011 amounted to over BGN 300 M, Tanov highlighted.

He also noted that the customs authority was to achieve BGN 920 M of the total BGN 1 B increase in revenues under Budget 2012.

Tanov went on to say that the end was in sight for the "Lukoil saga".

He explained that the oil company had been working hard on the installation of the mandatory measuring devices over the past 4-5 months and was expected to comply with the requirements by January 15, 2012, at which point it would have its license restored.

"They mounted the necessary equipment at the exit of the Lukoil Neftochim refinery and have almost ensured full compliance with the law at that point. What remains to be done is to make sure that the entry point is also in line with the requirements. The Rosenetz oil terminal, however, leaves a lot to be done and I believe it will be completed by the end of next year," Tanov stated.

He reminded that the preliminary execution of the license suspension had been canceled by the court and the Burgas-based refinery and the oil terminal were functioning "as if they had a permit".

Tanov also drew attention to the fact that Lukoil's current efforts came with a delay of a year and a half.

On July 22, the Customs Agency revoked Lukoil's licenses for two tax warehouses because of the company's failure to equip the facilities with measuring devices providing a direct real-time link to the tax administration.

After it lodged 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.

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

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