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A. Georgiadis: We acquire a tool so that the crisis does not become an opportunity for super-profits

“We are getting a tool to make it clear to everyone that the crisis can not be an opportunity for some to make super profits,” said Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis, referring to the amendment tabled to curb unfair profits. “Our fellow citizens will not pay for the international price explosion and a hat for some who want to make money,” said Adonis Georgiadis, warning that if the amendment is passed, extensive checks will begin. “Now is the time to act responsibly, this is not the time for speculation,” said Mr Georgiadis.

Referring in particular to the provisions of the amendment, to reduce the phenomenon of unfair profitability in times of crisis, the minister said that the aim is “to avoid some people trying in the midst of war and unrest and on the pretext that there is a large increase in international prices. “It confuses the consumer, to increase their profit margin, to make, as it is commonly called, a predator. We want to avoid allowing unconscious people to take advantage of the crisis to make money.”

The minister said that the rise, with this explosive rate, of raw materials, will inevitably reach consumers. “I do not want to promise the Greek people that with this provision, prices will not increase. Prices will inevitably increase as the price of raw materials inevitably increases. If pricing falls below cost, this “What will happen is a shortage of goods and a black market. Very simply.”

The amendment, explained Adonis Georgiadis, “sets a limit, in September 2021, and says that a refinery, a fuel carrier or a service station – because the provision applies to the entire supply chain vertically – as much as it had a profit margin at the time, to is the maximum percentage he is allowed to have today, he cannot increase it “.

If the control mechanisms find out, said the Minister of Development and Investment, that someone has put on a “hat”, has increased this profit margin, in this case they impose fines starting from 5,000 euros and up to 1 million. Mr. Georgiadis said that with the amendment, everyone is obliged, both the companies and those directly involved, to hand over to the services all the data available to them, so that the control can be done and if some people hide any of these data, they will be fined, in addition to the violation.

SYRIZA parliamentary representative Christos Spirtzis said that although the government has been too late to take any action on the increases, his party wants to make a positive contribution to the government’s new effort to keep prices in check. However, he called on the minister to inform the Parliament about the mechanism by which the auditing bodies will calculate the gross profit, and asked for specific procedures so that no other costs are calculated, in order to keep the prices. He also said that the FTA on fuel is a tool that the government can use to keep prices down, ie to reduce the FTA on fuel.

“The amendment has been written by the General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and DIMEA, and has already incorporated the checks that have been made to date, for all sanitary materials, in which we had established a corresponding profit margin during the pandemic.” said the Minister of Development and Investment and added that in this way prices in Greece were kept low, and fines were imposed. However, he did not rule out corrective interventions, if the need is identified.

In relation to the FDA on fuel, the minister pointed out that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance, but stressed that any measure with a large budgetary impact, must be decided with great care, at the right time, and therefore today a hasty move that would grow and the fiscal agony of the markets, would be a bad choice.

MEPA25 parliamentary representative Kleon Grigoriadis called on the Minister of Development and Investment to answer whether the amendment will have retroactive effect so that, for example “Mr. Vardinogiannis, Motoroil, to check if he has put a hat on fuel, between September 2021 and this year and, respectively, to check what hat the electricity providers have put on “. “The energy exchange has the hat in its structure. Will you remove it? Will we leave the energy exchange?”, Mr. Grigoriadis also asked.

“Will you allow me not to make a name-calling to businessmen like you. This is Parliament and it does not make sense,” Adonis Georgiadis commented, adding that inspections were already being carried out at the refineries and of course everyone will be checked for the period and before today. . “But I’m absolutely sure that when the raw material goes up so much, the last one to win is the refinery – for anyone who knows how the fuel market works. The refinery wins when the fuel market falls and not when it goes up,” he said. and Investment.

Source: Capital

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