Bulgaria's top court upheld Wednesday a previous ruling providing that the Lukoil Neftochim should stay in operation until the legality of its revoked tax warehouse operator license is finally decided.

The Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) thereby allowed the refinery to process fuel until the end of 2011 at the least, given that the first sitting of the Administrative Court Sofia City (ACSC) on the substance of the case has been scheduled for August 31.

The Wednesday ruling of VAS upheld ACSC's conclusions that the preliminary execution of the suspension of the permits of Lukoil Neftochim and Oil Terminal Rosenets would incur substantial or hardly repairable damage to the company.

VAS refuted claims of Bulgaria's Customs Agency that Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria EOOD was not the sole supplier of jet fuel and that there were at least 10 more licensed tax warehouse operators.

According to the document, the jet fuel released from the mandatory state reserves with a July 30 decision of the Council of Ministers had been supplied by Lukoil and "This would not have been necessary if there had been alternative suppliers of the commodity".

 In its August 02 appeal against the ACSC ruling, the Customs Agency said that the administrative court was wrong to find that Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD had provided sufficient evidence of the type, extent and likelihood of damages it would suffer.

The customs authority underscored that the oil processing plant had presented supply contracts for crude oil and petroleum products signed by Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD, a fuel distributor which is part of the Lukoil group but a separate legal person.

The focus of ACSC's ruling on Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria EOOD' s exclusivity caused Economy Minister Traicho Traikov to request a cartel probe on the jet fuel market in Bulgaria by the Commission on Protection of Competition.

"It has been established that the preliminary execution of the act would impact strategic sectors of the economy like rail, air and Sofia public transport", VAS concluded Wednesday, stressing the importance of the contested administrative act for Bulgaria's economy.

According to the top court, the suspension of the preliminary execution would not pose a threat to key public and social interests and would not hamper the subsequent entry into force of the administrative act issued by Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov.

After the refinery was stripped of its license on July 27, over the failure to install electronic measuring devices, the oil processing installations of the plant were switched into hibernation mode, which allowed it to start working at full capacity within 8 hours after the Court permit.

Although Lukoil resumed operations at full steam, customs inspectors continued the monitoring of the refinery and the Rosenets Oil Terminal, as well as a number of other sites, as announced in July.

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