By:
Daxim L. Lucas - 02:02 AM December 19, 2016
The Department of
Energy plans to clamp down on illegal retailers of petroleum products
especially those that sell fuels using nonstandard containers like bottles,
barrels, drums or portable containers—a move meant to ensure the safety of the
consuming public.
In a proposed circular,
the DOE will also mandate all retail establishments to secure a certificate of
compliance from the department’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, without which
any sale of petroleum products by the business would be considered “illegal
trading” subject to stiff penalties and fines.
“The continued use of
unsafe and substandard methods of retailing liquid fuels exposes the consuming
public to fire, danger, health and environmental risks,” said the proposed DOE
circular, which is being circulated among stakeholders for comments until Dec.
21, 2016.
These unauthorized
retailing methods also deny the public “the proper quantity and quality of
fuels they purchase” and “deprives legitimate retail outlets of additional
sales volume” while depriving the government of revenues from licensing fees,
local business taxes and pump calibration charges, among others,” the
department added.
Most importantly, these
industry malpractices also “encourages the marketing of liquid fuels sourced
from illegal activities such as smuggling, pilferage, theft and the like,” DOE
said.
Once promulgated, the
new circular will mandate all retail outlets to store liquid fuels in
underground tanks, to be dispensed only via fixed and permanent dispensing
pumps, all contained in a minimum lot area of 100 square meters.
“Liquid fuels shall not
be dispensed from aboveground tanks, portable tanks, road tankers or vehicles,
drums, barrels, bottles or ‘bote-bote’, or similar containers into the fuel
tanks of motor vehicles,” the proposed circular read.
The quality and
quantity of the dispensed fuels will also be scrutinized by the government.
Compliance with the new
rules will be be monitored by the OIMB and its field offices through
unannounced inspections and random testing of pumps as well as sample testing
of fuel products either on site or at the DOE’s laboratory.
Violations will include
conducting business without a certificate of compliance, failure to post
licenses and permits on the businesses’ premises, failure to pay fees or fines,
or the posting of inaccurate octane rating numbers for fuels and quality
labels, among others.
First-time offenders
may be fined a penalty of P250,000 per violation while a succeeding offense
will merit another P250,000 fine and the revocation of government permits and
licenses.
No comments:
Post a Comment