Counterfeit fuel at a gas station – battle!

6 March 2017

Rosstandart held the first meeting on combating illegal circulation of oil products.

Rosstandart held the first meeting on combating illegal circulation of oil products. Was the analysis of the results of inspections of gas stations in 2016 in comparison with 2015. Just checked 1536 stations.

If in 2015 adulterated fuel with violations of the physico-chemical properties was found in 42.5% of the proven gas stations, in 2016 – by 12%, which although indicates a reduction in violations, but still they remain unacceptably high.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that, in addition to the falsification of fuel directly at the pump, this sin and tank farms. Despite the fact that the level of violations is decreased by 40% in 2015 to 21.5% in 2016, he remains a determining factor in the General decline in the quality of fuel on the Russian market. According to the General Director of Agency "analysis of commodity markets" Mikhail Turukalov, gasoline supplied to the refineries, guaranteed quality, and "bodyazhat" it on the depots or in transit by tankers.

According to the newspaper "Kommersant", the situation in 2016 has improved somewhat after October 2015 Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Commission for fuel and Energy instructed to create uniform requirements for producers in the framework of the fight against adulteration of fuel. It stepped up the fight against counterfeiting annual turnover can reach Russia in 10 million tons.

With a planned production volume in 2017 39 800 000 tons of gasoline and 70 000 000 tons of diesel fuel, the volume of counterfeit drugs significantly reduces the effect of the modernization of the refinery and worsens the investment attractiveness of the entire industry. According to the results of monitoring carried out by Rosneft in the region, the turnover of counterfeit goods in 2015 and 2016 has not declined.

The current punishment for selling substandard fuel (penalty to 1 million rubles or suspension of activities), is ineffective, because Rosstandart controls only retail, not paying attention to violations of the depots.

In major oil companies in favor of expanding the powers of inspectors in quality not only at filling stations but also at the depots. In this regard, the Ministry of industry and trade in November 2016 issued a bill on the introduction of penalties for violators in the form of fines with turnover in the amount of 1% (not less than 500 000), suspension for 90 days (for repeat offenders) or a fine in the amount of 2 000 000 rubles. In Rosstandart also consider the required tests and certification of the fuel before distribution to the retail network. 

At the end of January 2017 the portal "Wheels.ru" said that accelerated growth in retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel due to the fact that distributors of fuel have started to invest the increase in wholesale prices last year in the cost of fuel at filling stations this year.