A single company entitled to a monopoly on providing certification on imported petrol would likely earn millions of euros per year if the Ministry of Trade and Industry applied measures envisioned in a new Administrative Instruction. Fuel prices would also likely rise due to the additional tariffs.

In the new Administrative Instruction for the Control and Quality of Liquid Petroleum Fuels, it is foreseen for the MTI to contract a single company to provide verification and certification of imported petrol over a period of five years, with the possibility of extension for another five.

Through this company, the MTI will ensure that the quality of fuel is verified and has paid its customs duties. This will be carried out by injecting the petroleum with a unique product, which certifies that the fuel has been checked.

The Administrative Instruction also stipulates that the cost of this process will be covered by businesses. “Expenses incurred during certification are covered by the Entity which has undergone this process,” it is stated in item 19 of Article 54.

The MTI has not yet made public any costs that companies may incur per litre for this process. However, BIRN has carried out investigations to find out whether countries in the region have applied the same practice, discovering that Albania has previously added fees to this certification process, charging companies 7.1 Albanian lek or 5 cents per certified litre.

According to data from Kosovo Customs, in 2019 there 618 million litres of oil imported to Kosovo, while in 2020 this figure dropped slightly to 602 million litres. 

Using the price charged in Albania, 5 cents per litre, and the amount of oil that was imported to Kosovo in 2020, it can be calculated that the company entitled to a monopoly on this process will accrue roughly 30 million euros in revenue. 

Even if the charge in Kosovo was half the price at only 2.5 cents per litre, the company will have a guaranteed annual revenue of 15 million euros, and likely daily revenues of roughly 40,000 euros. At 2.5 cents per litre, a company entitled to monopoly on this process for five years would see revenues of around 75 million euros.

Article 54 of the new Administrative Instruction addresses the certification process and provides for the contracting of a company to carry out verification and certification of imported fuel. 

Item 17 of this article envisages the contracting of a body for the entire territory of Kosovo, while item 15 determines the duration of this authorization, stipulating a five year contract with the possibility of an extension.

In a statement issued for BIRN, the head of the Kosovo Competition Authority, Valon Prestreshi, said that they would look into whether the administrative instruction is in violation of the Law on Protection of Competition.

“This economic policy implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to monopolize certain markets has echoes of recidivist policy, of a planned economy. If proven as such, this is contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, which is a free-market economy,” Preteshi said. “As such, today I have authorized the secretariat of  the Anti-Corruption Agency to urgently initiate a preliminary investigation procedure.”