Consumers are getting confused about the price of a gas bottle. And now is the time when we’re getting the most use out of them.
Legally, you should not be charged any higher than 17,50 euro for a gas bottle since the price was fixed by the Department of Industry, Energy and Tourism in May 2013. This is the top amount anyone should pay, and it’s including all the extra charges such as tax and other surcharges.
In January this year, however, a new royal decree was published in the Official State Bulletin (BOE) stating that for those bottles (without the gas inside) weighing less than 9kg, distributors can set the price.
And now this has been taken advantage of by some distributors.
A gas bottle of the traditional kind weighs 12.5kg when empty, and so the price is fixed at 17,50 euro. However, if using packaging that weighs 9kg or less, distributors can charge what they want.
And this is why some retailers are selling their gas bottles for between 18 and 20 euro, maybe even more.
Many distributors have opted now to only sell the bottles made from a lighter material that weigh less than 9kg when they are empty, so that they can charge more for them, and not have to stick by what the government has dictated.
The cost of a kilo of butane gas has a maximum fixed price of 114,2015 cents to which you have to add commercial costs of 49,1702 cents. This means that a 12.5kg gas bottle is priced at 14,27 euro. When you add tax to the value of 15 euro per tonne of butane plus 21% VAT, the total price comes to 17,50 euro. This is valid for the whole of the mainland and the Balearic Islands, but not the Canaries or Ceuta and Melilla.
This fixed price of 17,50 euro will be maintained until September 2015. But with this new royal decree in place, if distributors are selling the lighter bottles, this fixed price is just there for show, really.
Source: www.quieropagarmenosluz.org
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