Nicosia, Cyprus. The north has zeroed value added tax on fuel and capped importer and petrol station profit to address price rises linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the north’s ‘energy minister’ Olgun Amcaoglu said.
Amcaoglu said the government is monitoring developments and may consider future pricing updates depending on how the situation evolves.
Measures announced by the north’s ‘energy minister’
Amcaoglu told the north’s Tak news agency that the government is “closely monitoring the process” and has introduced regulations to protect consumers.
He said VAT on fuel has been reduced to zero, and that the clean profit importers and petrol stations can take from retail sales has been capped at 7.25TL (14 cents) per litre.
Amcaoglu said that “updates to pricing may be considered in the future depending on developments,” and added that “this ongoing process should not be made a subject of political debate”.
How fuel prices are set
Fuel prices in the north are set centrally by a commission comprised of representatives of the ruling coalition and the two large petrol station chains, Cyprus Turkish Petroleum (K-Pet) and Alpet.
The most recent price rises were announced last week, marking the second increase of the month so far.
Current pump prices
At present, 95 octane petrol costs 57.12TL (€1.12) per litre, 98 octane petrol costs 58.12TL (€1.14) per litre, diesel costs 56TL (€1.10) per litre, and kerosene costs 67.43TL (€1.33) per litre.
Comments from the north’s ‘prime minister’
Earlier this week, the north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel said he cannot rule out further fuel price rises given the ongoing conflict.
“We cannot say that fuel price increases have stopped. They will stop when the war ends,” he told Genc TV, adding that it is “unclear” when the conflict will end and that the ruling coalition is “working hard to prevent people from being crushed under the weight of price increases”.
“Yes, we increased fuel prices twice [this month], but look back. We did it after a long time,” he said.
How do you expect the VAT change and profit cap to affect fuel prices in the coming weeks?