April 17, 2023, 1:57 PM
April 17, 2023, 1:57 PM
After the central government announced the application of restrictions on the sale of fuels to curb fuel smuggling, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons reported on Sunday that vehicles for public and private use that have the B-Sisa registration They will not have problems loading gasoline and diesel.
The previous week, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons announced the entry into force of a supreme decree that limits the sale of fuels. The measure was born as a control mechanism to prevent the fuels imported by Bolivia from being diverted to smuggling.
Since 2004, the country subsidizes the consumption of gasoline and diesel in the country. This generates large expenses for the State, which for more than 14 years has used the Net International Reserves (NIR) to cover this commitment. Last year, the State spent more than $1.7 billion
In this context, the measures established to control the hydrocarbon sales market will allow save $250 million this year and neutralize the diversion of at least 250 million liters of fuel destined to illegal activities, reported the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Franklin Molina, according to a report by the ABI agency.
Decree 4910 seeks to fight against smuggling and initiate control, inspection and regulation actions by different State institutions, where the Armed Forces and Police will do the operational part, he explained on Bolivia Tv.
A previous study already identified the so-called risk areas, which are not only on the borders, but also in some intermediate cities. Smuggling interdiction tasks will be focused on these regions.
Fuel is also diverted for “shock or illegal” cars and illegal mining. Another area of action, precisely, will be the resale of fuels with the registration, for example, of agricultural producers and the prohibition of sale to minors under 18 years of age.
The authority assured that public and private vehicles with the B-Sisa registration will not have any problem refueling.
The Self-Identification Systems (B-SISA) allows the State to know in detail the flow, the destination and the volumes that are sold daily through the service stations.
The B-Sisa uses RFID (radio frequency) technology that allows its users to obtain a mini statement regarding their behavior as a fuel consumer in a certain period of time.
It was implemented in 2013 and Its objective is to avoid its diversion towards other illegal activities such as the manufacture of drugsthe illegal exploitation of wood and gold with clandestine machinery fed with subsidized fuel.
