The Privatization Agency of Kosovo (AKP) said that the owners of the closed gas stations in the Serbian-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo have violated the lease contracts, because they did not respect a clause related to obtaining a work license. with oil derivatives.
For this reason, according to KPA, actions have been taken to terminate those contracts.
In the statement given to Radio Free Europe, the AKP explained that the closed fuel pumps are owned by it – as a legacy of the former social enterprises “INA Trgovina” from Zagreb and “Jugopetrol” from Belgrade – and that it has exclusive right to manage them.
The agency said it had rental contracts, valid for two years, with businessmen from northern Kosovo, but did not specify when they were signed.
Last week, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Industry, Enterprise and Trade in the Government of Kosovo closed five gas stations in the north, as it was said that the owners did not have licenses to work.
According to the announcement of this ministry on July 22, all business entities dealing with the sale of oil derivatives must have licenses, while “strict punitive measures” will be taken against those who violate the law.
The competent ministry said that the inspection will continue in the following days, to check if the gas stations have valid licenses for the activity they exercise.
Four of the five closed pumps had the logo of “NIS Petrol”, or the Oil Industry of Serbia, which is believed to have resumed its work in Kosovo in December 2016.
Otherwise, NIS is primarily owned by Russia’s Gazpromneft and its umbrella company, Gazprom.
However, according to the information of the AKP and the Ministry of Industry, Enterprise and Trade, those pumps were owned by businessmen from the north of Kosovo.
AKP said that there was never any communication or contract with “NIS Petrol”.
