Fuels

Diesel and petrol, how the excise discount changes from today

Due to the price difference between diesel and petrol, the new fuel tax cuts will be different from 2 May

by Lorenzo Pace

30 April 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Dates and covers
Why priority is given to diesel
Will increase petrol prices

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

There is a change of register. The third fuel rebate, approved in the Council of Ministers, will not be identical for diesel and petrol. Only for diesel, in fact, it is an extension: the cut in excise duties of 20 cents per litre (which become 24.4 cents per litre due to the addition of VAT) is confirmed. For green fuel, on the other hand, the overall reduction will be 6.1 cents per litre.

Dates and covers

Both interventions started at midnight between 1 and 2 May, as the previous intervention also includes Labour Day. The deadline, on the other hand, is set until 22 May, barring further extensions, which, given the trend in oil prices, will be very likely.

Two-step discount for three weeks

In particular, the one that will extend the fuel excise tax cut for three weeks is a two-stage operation (see also Il Sole 24 Ore of 30 April) . In addition to the reduction envisaged until 10 May by the decree law published on Saturday, 2 May in the Official Gazette, there will be a ministerial decree extending the tax reduction until 22 May. According to government sources, the coverage has already been found: another 250 million resources will be added to the decree law for an intervention worth a total of 400 million.

On the coverage front, the government's efforts were also amplified because the hunt for resources ran parallel to the hunt for resources to finance the Housing Plan and the Labour Decree. For the cut that has just been approved, initial coverage is provided by the Antitrust sanctions. The next millions will come from the 'mobile excise' mechanism and thus from the extra VAT revenue, which can only be calculated from next week.

Because priority is given to diesel

The aim is to try to implement the excise cut with just that extra revenue. The first two times it was not possible, but this time the intervention is less costly because it is aimed almost exclusively at diesel.

But how come? The answer comes directly from the price lists at the petrol stations: with the 24.4 cents per litre cut in force today - which costs almost half a billion every twenty days - diesel costs more than EUR 2.050 per litre throughout Italy. Petrol, on the other hand, less than 1.750 euro per litre. "An obvious disproportion," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told a press conference.

There is a specific reason for this. Demand is stiff because diesel is used for heavy goods transport and in agriculture and fishing. Moreover, with the last manoeuvre, the government raised the price of diesel by aligning excise duties with those of petrol. In fact, it raised taxes on diesel by 6 cents per litre.

The price of petrol will rise

In short, motorists should prepare for the first substantial increase in the petrol price. Because the new discount will be almost 20 cents less: thus, considering the last average price, the national cost will be more than 1.925 euro per litre.