The commission says it will ensure retailers aren’t misleading consumers with their fuel prices
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it will monitor petrol and fuel prices following the Federal budget’s cut in the fuel excise.
The Federal government this week announced a six-month reduction in the fuel excise, halving it from 44 cents per litre to 22 cents.
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The ACCC will be monitoring fuel excise prices around the country
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Under direction from the Federal government, the ACCC currently monitors fuel prices, costs, profits and reports on these each quarter.
The ACCC holds the power to compel refiners, importers, terminal operators, wholesalers and retailers to provide information relating to fuel prices when required.
The ACCC says it will focus on the price monitoring work for the next six months to determine how retailers are passing through the excise reduction to consumers.
“We expect that fuel retailers will pass on the cut in fuel excise to reduce the price at the bowser as soon as possible, as existing petrol stock levels are used up,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says.
“We will contact petrol retailers to set out our clear expectations that the savings are passed on to consumers and advise them that we will be monitoring their margins. We will also continue to inform consumers of retailer behaviour.”
The ACCC says it is a good time for consumers to look around and discover which retailers have already passed on the cut in the excise to their petrol prices.
According to the ACCC, the full excise has already been paid on existing stocks of fuel which will be run down first, with this lag in the adjustment of wholesale prices being shorter in larger cities and at sites with large turnover.
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However, the lag in adjustment is often longer in regional locations where lower volumes of fuel are sold and the fuel is replenished less frequently.
“If retailers make false or misleading statements to consumers that they have passed on the savings when they have not, the ACCC will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action,” Cass-Gottlieb says.
“We encourage consumers in major capitals to also look at the price cycle information on our website, and consumers everywhere to use price comparison sites.”