As of 00:00 on April 1, the discount of 20 cents on the price of fuel will begin to be applied at gas stations throughout the country.

The reduction, approved by the Council of Ministers as part of a package of measures in response to the war in Ukraine, responds to complaints from citizens and different sectors that saw their activity affected by the increase in the price of a liter of gasoline and diesel .

Of these 20 cents, 15 will be provided by the State and the other five are a minimum that oil companies must apply, although only those with refining capacity in Spain and a turnover of more than 750 million euros.

However, even if they do not have to assume those five cents, small gas stations will have to advance the discount when a customer refuels at their stations.

The 'low cost' gas stations recently warned that they were going to suffer the same problem.

How will the discount be applied? When a customer goes to refuel, they will see the current price per liter of fuel at the station throughout the process.

However, at checkout, a discount will be applied and you will receive a receipt showing both prices.

Thus, for example, if a liter of gasoline is 1.81 euros -its average price in Spain according to the latest data from the European Union Oil Bulletin-, filling a 50-litre tank will cost, on paper, 90.5 litres.

However, the gas station will charge the customer 80.5 maximum.



In addition to this, some large companies have announced even greater discounts, although to take advantage of them it will be necessary to be part of their loyalty systems.

In that case, the additional discount can be immediate or use formulas to accumulate in subsequent refuelings. Who puts the money? Mainly, the State, which will also be the one who will assume the additional five cents in the case of operators that do not exceed the bar that they have established.

As explained by the Government, it will have an estimated cost of 1,423 million euros of the 16,000 million that the entire plan will mobilize (6,000 million corresponding to aid and tax rebates and another 10,000 in ICO credits). How does the measure affect gas stations? More beyond the discount that they will have to contribute,

smaller stations complain that they will have to be the vehicle through which the discount reaches citizens.

In other words, when a person refuels and saves the 10 euros from the previous example, the cost will be assumed by the gas station and later it will be reimbursed.



This has meant that from the 'low-cost' and the employers that group independent and franchised service stations, it has been warned that it will entail a cost that could force those that do not have liquidity to temporarily close.

According to industry sources, it can mean 'advance' about 1,000 euros a day on average.



At the end of the month they will be able to send the invoice to the Treasury, which will reimburse them after a while.

In addition, the Government has set up a system so that the stations can request an advance of this money, although it will not begin to enter them until next week.

"These advances on account may be requested for the maximum amount of the bonus that would correspond to 90% of the average monthly volume of the products included in the target area," explains the Ministry of Finance. Are queues expected the first few days?

And shortages? From the sector they know that Friday will be a busy day.

These days, they point out, the general trend has been not to refuel or, if so, not to fill the tank to wait for the discount to start being applied and benefit from the discount.

This one, anyway,



In any case, shortage problems are not foreseen and, beyond longer waits, the weekend should pass normally. Can a gas station refuse to apply the discount? No, they have to comply with the discount by law.

Despite the complaints from the sector, their problem is not that they have to bear the cost, but rather that they are the one who advances the money for the discount.

That is why there are gas stations that are adjusting prices in anticipation (or, in areas with less competition, simply to bill more).



In any case, the Executive has warned that it will ensure that no fraudulent practice occurs around this bonus and will set up a mailbox for complaints, claims and suggestions so that any type of incident can be reported. How long will the bonus last? discount? If there are no changes, it will be in effect for the full months of April, May and June.

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