In a bid to provide continued relief to consumers and with a last-minute amendment to the government bill Parliament on Thursday approved another two-month extension for reduced fuel tax until the end of June.
This means the tax rate reduction remains the same – that is 8.3 cents on motor fuels – such as petrol and diesel – and 6.4 cents on heating fuel.
And not as the government had wished for, that is a decrease corresponding to just half of the rate reduction that had applied previously.
The Ministry of Finance believes the stabilization of international oil prices justified a 50% reduction in excise duties.
The amended bill was approved unanimously by the House plenum but the opposition did not fail to accuse the government of seeking a ‘haircut’.
Thursday’s unanimous vote is interpreted as the first defeat in Parliament of the new Nikos Christodoulides administration since it has failed to gather the required majority to adopt its own proposal.
Something which also indicates that the16 votes of the co-governing parties – Diko, Dipa and Edek – are not enough for the government’s proposals to be approved.
The President reserves the right not to sign off on a law passed by Parliament.