Excise tax cut, new decree arrives: 191.2 million from extra VAT revenue

As planned, the government's second intervention has arrived to 'cover' the cut in fuel excise duties, which since 2 May has been set with different reductions for diesel (-24.4 cents per litre) and petrol (-6.1 cents per litre). After the decree-law passed in the Council of Ministers on 30 April, that of the Ministry of the Economy was published in the Official Journal.

As mentioned, the stages had already been set. The decree-law lasted until 10 May (inclusive), while the ministerial decree will make the discount at petrol stations last until 22 May. In total, this will add up to the three weeks that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni herself announced at a press conference after the last cabinet meeting.

The reason for the double intervention is related to coverage. As reported in Il Sole 24 Ore of 1 May, 146.5 million from the Antitrust sanctions were used to financially cover the first cut (from 2 to 10 May).

A bridging step to exploit, as happened in April, the extra VAT revenue, which is calculated at least after the first week of each month. Between 1 and 30 April, reads the text in the Gazzetta, the revenue generated was 'equal to 191.2 million euro'. In this way, the 'mobile excise' mechanism can still be activated.

Doubts about what will happen next remain. Because the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is not unblocked and the price of Brent crude, the North Sea crude used as a global indicator, remains 40% higher than in February.