The tax on special constructions will not be included this year in the final electricity and gas tariffs

The tax on special constructions, which will be paid by energy and gas distributors, will not be included in the final tariffs in 2014, because the National Energy Regulatory Authority has already set the tariffs for this year, several directors of energy companies, attending a profile conference, stated on Tuesday. “Impact on CEZ Romania is about EUR 10-15mln per year. This year, the impact in the final price will be zero, because, according to the legislation, if during a year a tax appears, it is recognized as unpredicted cost, but only in the following year, i.e. in 2015 it could affect the final invoice”, Adrian Borotea, Corporate Affairs Director of CEZ Romania, said. Also, the General Manager of gas distributor GDF Suez Energy Romania, Eric Stab, claims that in the gas market the situation is similar. “For us, the impact will be between EUR 6mln and EUR 15mln. Even if we take the maximum interval, EUR 15mln, the impact in the final price will be low”, he specified. Attending the same conference, Romgaz General Manager Virgil Metea said the gas producer would pay approximately RON 100mln in account of this tax. Fuel prices could increase by over 8% as a result of the additional excise duty of 7 eurocents and the tax on special constructions, Rompetrol Vice President Catalin Dumitru said at the same event. “Based on our calculations, the additional excise duty could have an impact of RON 0.40 per liter in the final price”, Dumitru said. This tax entered into force on January 1st 2014.