Fuels

Excise tax cut deadline: risk of record diesel price increase in Italia

Considering the cost of the intervention and the margins of manoeuvre of the government - which is also seeking funds for other interventions - an extension seems complicated

by Lorenzo Pace

24 April 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Last week with the discounted fuel prices in Italy. On 1 May the 24.4 cents per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel will expire and, without an extension, prices at petrol stations would return to the highest in Europe.

The conditional is a must since there are still a few days to go. But considering the cost of the operation and the government's room for manoeuvre - which is also seeking funds for other interventions - an extension seems complicated.

The increase would be immediate

Without it, however, prices would immediately go back up. The payment of excise duties is immediate and, meanwhile, oil companies still have to deal with a very expensive raw material. Brent prices, with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on stand-by, have exceeded USD 105 per barrel.

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The highest in Europe

In short, the +24.4 cents per litre would be noticeable almost immediately.

Calculating on today's national prices - which, it must be said, have been falling for almost two weeks in a row - petrol would arrive at EUR 1.981 per litre and diesel at EUR 2.307 per litre.

The price of green is said to be just above the European average (EUR 1.890 per litre), although the latter is affected by low values in some countries due to political interventions: the most striking case is that of Malta, where the fuel price has been fixed at EUR 1.340 for years.

The situation for diesel is different. The price, at around EUR 2.065 per litre, is already in line with the European average. Without the discount, however, Italia would be the only country where the 2.3 euro per litre threshold would be exceeded.

A billion spent for 45 days off

As said, taking action is not easy. For 45 days of the excise cut (19 March to 1 May) almost a billion euro was spent.

It is difficult to replicate such figures now, also because the government is looking for cover for the next measures: the House Plan and the decree against poor work for the first of May. The first hints on what to do after the first of May will arrive in the Council of Ministers today.

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Requests to Europe

Because of these difficulties, a confrontation - also in heated tones - was initiated with the European Union, in particular to obtain more flexibility on the constraints of the Stability Pact.

At the moment, there has been no opening from Brussels in this regard. Furthermore, it has been suggested by the institutions (including the international Monetary Fund) to avoid measures for everyone, but to opt for more targeted ones.