Irregularities in the fuel market could represent between 2% and 4% of the total market, especially through small and medium-sized operators, said the Secretary-General of the sector association (EPCOL).
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Lusa
EPCOL
Qbased on the profile of the entities associated with these irregularities, António Comprido stated that it is usually small and medium-sized companies.
“I would say they are small operators, small mediums,” said the Secretary-General of the Association of Portuguese Fuel and Lubricants Companies (EPCOL), in the margins of the presentation of the study “Operational and regulatory irregularities in the National Petroleum System”.
These practices may involve “a set of, I don’t know, 5, 10, 15 operators”, some of whom “known” and with previous activity in Spain, according to António Longo.
“Many of them […] worked in Spain and today work in Portugal,” he said.
EPCOL’s manager stated that there are operators entering and leaving the market, sometimes keeping the same people behind new companies.
“There are operators who appear and disappear,” he said, adding that in some cases “the company disappears and then a new company is created”.
António Comprido stressed that the association does not intend to generalise suspicions to all companies outside the EPCOL universe and stated that there are many fulfilling operators in the sector.
“There are many other companies outside the EPCOL universe that are fulfilling,” he said.
Nevertheless, the Secretary-General of the Association stated that both the Tax Authority and the National Energy Entity (ENSE) know several of the operators concerned.
“They’re identified. I will not put names here,” he said, saying it is not for the association to investigate or accuse concrete companies.
The study presented today by EPCOL estimates that the undeclared import of fuels has generated tax losses of 1,121 million euros between 2023 and 2025.
Of this amount, around EUR 704 million corresponds to estimated average losses of Oil and Energy Tax (ISP), while EUR 417 million relate to estimated average losses of Value Added Tax (VAT).
The analysis also estimates that the average volume of undeclared imported white fuel increased from 381 million litres in 2023 to about 553 million litres in 2025, which represents a cumulative growth of 45.1% in the period analyzed.
Asked about how these irregularities occur, António Comprido explained that one of the routes passes through the entry of the product into the country without a declaration to the competent authorities, which may prevent the payment of the tax due.
Another possibility pointed out by the person responsible is the use of the tax differential between Portugal and Spain, since the tax applied in Spain is lower than that in Portuguese.
The Secretary-General of EPCOL admitted that part of the irregular product may enter land from Spain, but did not completely exclude the maritime route.
“We are not sure, for example, that it does not enter by sea. We don’t have any evidence, but we can’t totally rule it out either,” he said.
António Longido also argued that the impact of these irregularities is not limited to the loss of tax revenue, also affecting consumers and operators complying with it.
“If the government loses revenue through this, someone has to pay more to compensate for what is not paid,” he added.
The person responsible also warned of risks of market quality and credibility, advocating greater traceability of products from entry into the country to final consumption.
EPCOL therefore advocates the approval of the bill that is in the Assembly of the Republic, possibly with improvements, to strengthen supervision and hinder these practices.
Still, he admitted that legislation will not completely eliminate the problem.