The comparison

Diesel, Italia first in Europe for taxes. Here is what changes with the decree

More than the increase since the beginning of the war, which has been significant but still lower than many other European countries, it is the taxes that make the difference for fuel prices in Italia

by Lorenzo Pace

19 March 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

More than half the price of diesel goes to taxes
Government intervention
The situation for petrol

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Even with the decree cutting excise duties, Italia is thirteenth in the European Union in terms of taxes on diesel. And thus in the middle of the twenty-seven ranking, where our country was in first place until the government's intervention in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday evening.

These are elaborations on the weekly bulletin of the European Commission, which every Thursday collects data on fuel prices in all members. It does this by taking the reports of each country and then, for Italia, uses that of the Ministry of the Environment, which provides the figures every Tuesday.

More than half the price of diesel goes to taxes

That is why all tables do not take into account the new 25 cents per litre cut for petrol and diesel. And they still place Italia in first place for the taxation applied to diesel. On Tuesday 16 March, on the pump price of 2.033 euro per litre for diesel, the share between excise duty and VAT was 1.039 euro per litre. This means that more than half of the cost of refuelling - 51.1 per cent - went in taxes.

The Government's intervention

We speak in the past tense because for the next twenty days the figures will be different. Excise duty and VAT will fall by 24.4 cents per litre and so, making a simulation of the cut on the latest national figures, the state will take 79.6 cents per litre of diesel.

This will change the European ranking, but Italia will still not be among the countries with the lowest taxation on diesel. It will go in the middle, with numbers similar to Greece, which applies a taxation close to 79 cents per litre. Behind will remain almost all Eastern European countries - from Poland to Bulgaria, which taxes the least - as well as Spain, Luxembourg and Cyprus.

The fact is that from 8 April, when it is unlikely that the crude oil crisis will be resolved, Italia is expected to return to the old taxation. And thus to the first places in the EU, where now - without our country - there are Denmark (1.006 euro per litre), Ireland (97.6 cents per litre) and Germany (97.4 cents per litre).

The situation for petrol

For petrol the situation is a little different. Because Italia applies a taxation of one euro per litre (the pump price is 1.819 euro), which places it eighth in the EU. This means that, with the cut included in the decree, taxation on green will be among the lowest. It will be around 75 cents per litre. Numbers similar to Spain and, in any case, higher only than Malta, Poland, Hungary, Cyprus and Bulgaria. A group that Italia will join, however, only for twenty days.

So fuels in Italia are expensive (even if they are growing less)

As a result, Italia will once again have one of the most expensive fuels in Europe, even though prices have risen less than in other countries since pre-war Iran. Since 23 February, diesel has risen by 19.5% (15th in the EU) while petrol has risen by 10% (18th). Nothing to do with the boom in Spain (+29.1% for diesel and 16.1% for petrol) and in any case less than in France (+22.3% and +11%) and Germany (+23.8% and +14.3%). And yet, at petrol stations Italian motorists pay more than others. That is, EUR 2.033 for a litre of diesel (fifth place in the EU) and EUR 1.819 for a litre of petrol (eighth place).