Those crossing to the north with the sole purpose of filling up their cars with petrol face a fine of €4 per litre, according to a customs department official.
Customs department spokesman, George Constantinou, said on Thursday that increased checks to prevent fuel imports from the north mean that customs officials at the checkpoints are also inspecting private cars.
He told Brief that if it is proven that a person crossed north for the sole purpose of getting petrol then a fine of €4 per litre will be imposed.
“We have already noticed that when an official records the details of the crossing – fuel quantity and time of crossing – many people turn back and leave without crossing north,” Constantinou was quoted as saying.
His comments caused confusion as late last month President Nikos Christodoulides said on the issue that “I understand when it is for private use”.
The government has made clear that it is not illegal for Greek Cypriots to fill their tanks in the north, while they can also bring ten litres in a Jerrycan.
Indeed, Constantinou said that while their focus is on the commercial nature of illegal fuel imports, they are also checking private vehicles. Just recently, the spokesman said, they found 160 litres of petrol stored in eight containers in a saloon car.
But the spokesman insisted that “private vehicles are also checked and the details of when they crossed are recorded so that if upon their return it is clear that they only went north to fill up and for no other reason then a fine is imposed”.
“For example, if someone crosses for just a few minutes and it is discovered through checks that they filled up then obviously this is unrelated to the Green Line Regulation – therefore the sole reason for crossing is to dodge taxes on fuel,” Constantinou said.
He added that in such a situation a fine is imposed according to the amount of fuel purchased.
Constantinou was not immediately available for comment. An official at the interior ministry told the Cyprus Mail that while they deal with the Green Line Regulation it is the customs department which is better suited to comment on the issue.
The police spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The price of petrol and people filling up their cars in the north has gained renewed attention after the cabinet scrapped the reduced rates of VAT.
That led to an additional 8.3 cents per litre on petrol, which came into effect on June 30.
That, in turn, led to petrol station owners holding a demonstration on June 27 to protest over what they describe as government inaction which facilitates fuel imports from the north.
Speaking at the protest, head of the petrol station owners association Savvas Procopiou attacked statements made by Energy Minister George Panastasiou the previous day that individuals are allowed to fill up in the north.
“We completely disagree with the statement of the energy minister, he cannot say with such ease that the public should visit the occupied areas to buy petrol,” he said.