ANAREC leader blames government for fuel tax greed and calls for stricter anti-smuggling measures
ANAREC president João Durão accused Portugal's government of lying about fuel taxes, urging lower taxes and tighter border checks to stop daily smuggling with Spain.
Speaking to journalists at a service station in Lanhelas, Caminha, João Durão, president of the Associação Nacional de Revendedores de Energia, Combustíveis, Estações de Serviço (ANAREC), charged the Portuguese government with deceiving the public and profiting from fuel taxes. He argued that the current tax rate, which amounts to 60 cents of every euro of diesel, makes Portuguese stations far less competitive than those in neighboring Spain, where such taxes are absent.
Durão demanded a reduction in the fiscal load on fuels and called for stronger enforcement to stop what he described as daily smuggling across the border near the Ponte da Amizade linking Vila Nova de Cerveira with Tomiño in Galicia. He noted that price differences of 30-40 cents per litre fuel the illicit trade. The association warned that without tax relief and tighter controls, Portuguese retailers will continue to lose market share to Spanish competitors.
