Fuel market delinquency may be receding, but consumers are still paying around €400 million a year for fuel they don’t use.
That is what the industry’s association (SEEPE) calculates the annual fraud amount at the pump; it is a phenomenon that is dominant in Athens and Thessaloniki, but has also spread throughout the territory.
Almost one in four gas stations in Athens and Thessaloniki delivers deficient quantities to consumers with the well-known now technologically advanced method of the “tampered pump.”
However, the situation appears to have improved compared to 2025, both in terms of the number of offending gas stations and the deficit quantities, which appear reduced by 10%. Behind this improved image is due diligence legislation under which the tax authority (AADE) proceeded to shutter 92 offending gas stations for two years, meaning that when the state wants to, it can fight the phenomenon and protect consumers.
The course of delinquency in the fuel market is reflected in the updated research of the National Technical University of Athens’ Fuels and Lubricants Laboratory, presented on Monday by the SEEPE administration in the presence of AADE director Giorgos Pitsilis.
