Retail fuel prices in Cyprus are currently at “acceptable levels”, taking into account the global uptick and compared to other EU countries, government officials told incredulous MPs on Tuesday.

Director of the Consumer Protection Service (in the commerce ministry) said price increases in recent months in Cyprus registered lower than the EU average, while in absolute terms the prices of Unleaded 95 and heating fuel are among the lowest in the bloc.

Constantinos Karagiorgis said his department constantly monitors retail prices and their fluctuations.

“We need to assess prices in Cyprus based on what’s happening in Europe and globally, not in isolation,” he said.

Therefore, he added, despite the fact that Cypriot consumers are bearing more cost, “we must not create the impression that Cyprus is a special case where increases are out of control.”

Since the beginning of September, the department has been utilising econometrics to track retail prices. This model, said Karagiorgis, factors in data posted daily on Platts – a provider of benchmark price assessments and analytics – as well as currency exchange rates and data provided by fuel importers in Cyprus.

The official said the government cannot “intervene unchecked” in the market.

“We use models from firms, which helped us set it up, and based on these models we see that prices today in Cyprus are acceptable, considering all the data available across the import chain.”

His assertions appeared at odds with data released by Eurostat last month, showing that in August Cyprus recorded one of the EU’s sharpest monthly increases in petrol prices.

MPs meanwhile insisted on being shown the ‘formula’ for calculating retail prices.

Officials did not oblige.

Speaking to media after the session of the House energy committee, Disy MP Nikos Georgiou said that three government departments were not in a position to divulge the ‘formula’ or specify how much consumers are burdened by fuel taxes and duties.

“The state ought to have the answers, especially when it comes to the self-evident,” he said.

Weighing in, the head of the Consumers Association asserted that Karagiorgis’ department in fact does not monitor prices as closely as it claims.

According to Marios Drousiotis, his association has been tracking prices at the pump since consumption tax was slashed by 8.33 cents a litre.

The consumers association found that 19 petrol stations did not lower their prices at all since the tax discount, while 97 stations did lower their price but not as much as the discount.

“We’ve got the names, dates and amounts, and we say that the department has not closely monitored the issue,” Drousiotis insisted.

MPs were also frustrated with other government departments for being less than forthcoming with data.

They asked a finance ministry official how much the state collects from fuel sales and whether the VAT essentially cancels out the discount on the consumption tax. The official said she did not have the data on hand.

For its part, the tax department said only that net revenue from VAT has not increased. Net revenues were €32 million in 2024 and 2025, and so far this year the state has collected €24 million.

MPs also grilled the Commission for the Protection of Competition. Officials from the watchdog said that similar prices across petrol stations do not in themselves indicate collusion.

A CPC official said that back in 2014 they had carried out an investigation covering the entire supply chain.

Asked whether they have done another investigation since, the CPC said they launched another probe in 2024, which is still ongoing.