“In parallel with the legislative initiative of the Assembly of the Republic to define the limits set in the CIEC [Código dos Impostos Especiais sobre o Consumo]Portugal presents to the Commission Beneficiary of the European derogation [previstos na diretiva europeia]”, the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, António Mendonça Mendes, told Lusa.

This request for a derogation will thus make it possible to apply a measure announced by the Government to reflect in the Tax on Petroleum Products (ISP) a reduction equivalent to the derivation of a 10 percentage decrease (from 23% to 13%) of the VAT rate on fuels.

The Government law will contemplate that, and that the proposal for voting by the Assembly will be proposed, provides for a determination of the minimum limit of the ISP, for a determination of the ISP rate applicable to unleaded gasoline and measured to gas in order to guarantee flexibility in the adoption of tax rates, greater in view of the current context of uncertainty and volatility in the markets for petroleum products.

In light of the Community directive, the minimum rate of the ISP is 33.3 cents per liter of diesel and 35.9 cents for gasoline, with the minimum range of the law in force in each Member State being respectable.

In Portugal, the ISP rate is currently at 46.6 cents per liter of diesel and at 63.1 cents includes gasoline cents, and this value, in addition to the ISP, the carbon tax (the update of which is suspended) and the contribution Supervisor .

Thus, without making the minimum limit of application (the proposed law) there can be no margin to lower the ISP that results from the reduction of other VAT rates, the reduction of the ISP by one and two cents per liter of diesel and , respectively, the weekly mechanism that reduces the ISP’s VAT revenue resulting from rising prices.

In view of the minimum ISP, without limiting the range of the restriction, it might no longer be possible to project into account the values ​​equivalent to the application of a VAT rate with regard to diesel.

To Lusa, the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs is Portugal’s request following the European Commission of Austrian States “in derogations made to the requests of the IEC Directive, under article 19 of Directive 2003/96 /EC”.

These der, specified António Mendonça Mendes, will be altered and justified by the exceptionality of the current circumstances.