From today, the discount on diesel excise duty comes to an end: here’s how prices will change

The reduction in excise duty on diesel has expired without being renewed. In Saturday’s Official Gazette – the last day on which the reduction was valid – there is no mention of an extension, and from today the standard rates of duty are once again being applied to diesel. The effect at the pump is predictable: further price rises, albeit modest ones.

The Government kept the matter open right up to the last minute. As recently as Friday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni assured the public that the Government was working ‘day and night’ on the fuel issue and was considering a further extension using the ‘floating excise duty’ mechanism, which draws on the additional VAT revenue generated by the price rises themselves. In the end, the decision went in the opposite direction. With the full rates in place, the Treasury saves around 3.5 million euros a day and retains the additional VAT revenue from October, which is added to the unused portion of September’s revenue.

For motorists, the increase applies only to diesel. The reduction, which remained in force until 7 November, amounted to just under 4.9 cents per litre, including VAT. It was therefore a limited measure, and this is the order of magnitude of the expected rise in prices. Petrol was excluded from the discount and is not subject to any tax changes.

The survey by the Ministry of Enterprise’s Price Observatory on Sunday – which, however, only covers the early hours of the morning – shows an average self-service price on the road network of 2.223 euros per litre for diesel and 2 euros for petrol, which has returned to the two-euro mark after weeks of record highs.

On the motorway, average prices have risen to €2.277 for diesel and €2.029 for petrol. These are high figures by Italian standards – and diesel prices are set to rise by a few more cents – but they remain lower than the peaks seen a few weeks ago.