NoAs part of a service aimed at combating fraud in the sector of excise duties and other indirect taxes on production and consumption, the soldiers of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Caltanissetta, together with officials of the Customs Agency – ADM, in implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed last April 2023, and relating to the collaborative relationships between the two institutions, they seized 22,412 liters of non-distribution diesel in the municipalities of Gela and Niscemi.
The vast control campaign, which saw the participation of the soldiers of the Gela Group and officials of the Porto Empedocle Customs Agency, was aimed at operators who present significant risk alerts in relation to the most widespread offense phenomenasuch as, for example, the illegal mixing of energy products, in order to avoid the circulation of fuel adulterated with solvents or mixed with used vegetable oils to the detriment of motorists and hauliers.
The operations were carried out by quickly taking samples of the hydrocarbon present in the tanks, aimed at ascertaining their flash point: to guarantee the timeliness of the control, we made use of the support of the Mobile Laboratory and the Chemical Laboratory of Palermo of the Customs Agency, thanks to which it was possible to immediately determine all the tax specifications, product and environmental characteristics of the product taken.
The related analyzes confirmed, in both cases, the non-compliance of the diesel with the expected commercial specifications. In particular, the flash point of diesel fuel, which must not be lower than 55°C in order to minimize the risk of the formation of flammable mixtures in the storage depots, it was lower than 40°.
In addition to the seizure of the non-compliant diesel fuel, 2 individuals responsible for the crime referred to in the art. were reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Gela. 515 of the penal code (fraud in the exercise of commerce), without prejudice to the presumption of innocence.
To combat fraud, every year in Italy the Customs and Monopolies Agency and the Financial Police carry out thousands of checks on fuels collected from roadside distributors and commercial and fiscal depots in order to ascertain their compliance: in fact, it is a poor quality product, even though it does not immediately generate operating anomalies in the carsproduces, in prolonged use, negative effects on engine gears and increases exhaust gas emissions beyond the normal limits established by European regulations for environmental protection.
The aforementioned operational activities confirm the profitable synergy between the Financial Police and the Customs and Monopolies Agency, in order to activate increasingly effective joint activities to protect EU and national financial interests through the execution of targeted interventions aimed at ascertaining criminal and administrative offenses also in the delicate sector of excise duties.
June 18, 2024 | 09:12
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
