4.2% of filling stations inspected by the Trade Inspection in 2008 sold petrol and diesel oil non-compliant with quality requirements, which constitutes a 2.5% rise in comparison with last year. As for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), irregualrities concerned 5.8% of inspected filling stations.

It was the second time in a row when inspectors from the Trade Inspection chcecked almost all types of fuels available on the market: diesel oil, petrol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biofuel and light heating oil. Thanks to the Act on fuel quality monitoring and scrutinising system, in force since 2007, it is possible to scrutinise fuel at every stage of distribution - from fuel producers to warehouses, wholesalers, entities engaged in fuel transportation and filling stations.

The results of the inspection show that in 2008 the quality of liquid fuels sold at filling stations deteriorated - 4.2% of scrutinised samples were non-compliant with quality requirements (compared to only 1.7% in the previous year). In the case of diesel oil, 4.23% of the samples did not comply with the requirements (0.62% in 2007), while non-compliant samples of the petrol poured into fuel tanks constituted 4.18 % of all scrutinised petrol samples (2.36% in the previous year). In most cases - 85% - only one parameter did not comply with the requirements. In the case of diesel oil, it was usually the flash point - when too high, it reduces the engine’s working capacity and increases the emissions of chemical substances into the environment, in turn when too low it creates the danger of explosion. In the case of petrol, fuel vapour pressure turned out to be the most problematic parameter. If requirements pertaining to the volatility of petrol, that is fractional composition and vapour pressure, are not met, there my occur problems with starting the engine, risk of disturbing the work of the engine and even sudden engine immobilisation.

The deterioration of fuel quality is mainly the effect of contaminating petrol with diesel oil and vice versa, which may happen during transportation. Moreover, fuels from different deliveries are often stored in the same containers, which leads to mixing of fuels with different composition, that is mixing of hydrocarbon fuels with ethanol fuels. This, in turn, may lead to increased vapour pressure. Inspectors from the Trade Inspection had no objections as regards fuels scrutinised in Dolnośląskie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Opolskie, Podlaskie and Świętokrzyskie voivodships. The greatest number of irregularities were found in Zachodniopomorskie voivodship (11.36% of non-compliant samples), Kujawskopomorskie voivodship (6.12%) and Wielkopolskie voivodship (8.75%).

Inspection of the quality of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), carried out for the first time in 2008, showed irregularities in 5.81% of probed filling stations. In the previous year, when the scrutiny was carried out only in nine voivodships and started only in August, irregularities were discovered in 7.9% of scrutinised filling stations. The voivodship with the greatest number of irregularities is Opolskie (20%), wheras in Kujawskopomorskie, Małopolskie, Podlaskie and Warminsko-Mazurskie no irregularities were detected. Having scrutinised LPG at 35 fuel wholesalers, inspectors from the Trade Inspection questioned three samples. In the previous year, checks were carried out at 11 fuel wholesalers and irregularities concerned four samples, the inspections, however, started only in August and covered only nine voivodships.

For the first time, the Trade Inspection inspected the quality of liquid bio-fuels offered on the the market. The scrutiny, carried out in 11 voivodships, showed irregularities in 10 samples of petrol, that is 30.3% of the probed samples. Overall, the inspectors examined 28 filling stations and 4 fuel wholesalers.

The Trade Inspection also probed the filling stations whose customers complained about poor quality of fuels, stations selected by the law enforcement bodies and the ones where irregularities were found in the previous years. Out of 2089 samples of diesel oil and petrol collected at 1127 filling stations inspectors questioned 129: 79 samples of diesel oil (7.45%) and 50 samples of petrol (4.86%). The greatest number of irregularities were detected at filling stations where the quality of offered fuels was questioned in previous years - 20% (17.8% in 2007). The smallest number of irregularities was detected in Lubelskie voivodship (1.75% of questioned samples) and in Łódzkie voivodship (1.83%), while the greatest number of irregularities occurred in Świętokrzyskie (19.23%) and in Warmińsko-Mazurskie (11.11%).

A total number of 146 samples were collected at fuel wholesalers, producers and in places of fuel storage. The inspectors questioned 2.96% of petrol samples, while the quality parametres of diesel oil were found to be compliant with the requirements.

As a result of the inspections carried out in 2008, the Trade Inspection lodged 158 notifications on suspected committment of a crime. So far, proceedings have been instituted in 115 cases: 7 bills of indictment have been lodged in courts, in 27 cases proceedings have been discontinued due to failure to find the offender or lack of features of a crime, or due to minor social harm of the act; the remaining proceedings are still ongoing. The existing regulations set forth severe sanctions for selling poor quality fuel - a fine of PLN 1 million or imprisonment for the period of 3 months to 5 years.

The Trade Inspection also issued 34 decisions ordering all non-compliant liquid fuels to be recalled and provided the President of the Energy Regulatory Office with information concerning 148 filling stations and fuel wholesalers which infringed the terms of liquid fuel licenses and the regulations of the Energy Law Act, including 46 filling stations where inspections had been carried out in 2007. The President of the Energy Regulatory Office has the power to prohibit enterprises infringing the terms of their licenses from selling fuel.

Updated lists of entities inspected by the Trade Inspection are available on the website of UOKiK.

Additional information:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland
Tel. (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 430
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail: mcieloch@uokik.gov.pl