Greeks make it hard for hauliers to come and go
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BRITISH and other European hauliers operating into Greece are paying the price for Greece's campaign to preserve its diesel supplies.
Foreign registered vehicles are now having their diesel tanks dipped as they cross the Greek border and are given a ticket stating the amount of diesel in the tank. As they leave the country on their return journey, the tank is once again dipped. If it contains more than stated on the ticket, the driver must pay a surcharge.
This surcharge is reported to be 30 drachma per litre (around £2,30 a gallon) over the amount on the ticket. For instance, a haulier coming out of Greece with just 20 gallons more than he went in with would-have to pay about £46. The Department of Transport in London was not aware of this new Greek surcharge, and neither was the Road Haulage Association when CM spoke to it.
But the International Road Transport Union in Geneva unofficially confirmed the existence of the Greek fuel conservation measure, which was believed to have started during the first week of this month.
Diesel is cheap in Greece by comparison with neighbouring Yugoslavia and other Western European countries. Obviously Greece, which does not have a serious diesel sup ply problem, is afraid that foreign hauliers are taking advantage of its cheap diesel, to the detriment of the country as a whole.
The RHA said that it could not issue a definite statement until official notification of the surcharge was received, but that it had contacted its Greek counterpart and asked for it to investigate the matter "in the interest of international road haulage."
Only a month ago Hungary introduced a new form of tax related to foreign-registered vehicles purchasing diesel in the country (CM, July 6).