The fixed discount of 6.1 cents per liter on diesel excise duties expired at midnight on October 6. The sliding excise duties did not kick in because the Mase-Mef interministerial decree was not published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. For the first time since March there is no tax cut on fuel. A 50-liter fill-up costs about €3 more. The Ministry of Enterprise recorded self-service diesel at €2.244 per liter. Eni has raised its cap on diesel from €2.19 to €2.25 and left the one on gasoline at €1.99; IP, Q8 and Tamoil are expected to follow. La Repubblica writes that the cut is back on the government’s table; Deputy Minister Leo says “we are working on it.”
Diesel moves goods: an increase of 6 cents weighs on road haulage, public transport and consumer prices. The affair also shows that sliding excise duties, presented as a safety net, depend on a decree that is not there.
If you drive a diesel, count on €3 more per fill-up. Compare the stations: with Eni’s cap at €2.25, some pumps will stay below the national average.
The discount could not last forever with public finances under pressure; sliding excise duties are a more targeted tool, if applied.
Letting the discount expire without the decree ready is a management error that families and businesses pay for, at a time of high prices.
The signal to watch is the Gazzetta Ufficiale in the coming days: if the decree comes out, the discount returns, but variable. Then watch the average self-service price at the end of the week: if it stays above €2.24, the effect on transport and grocery prices will arrive by November.
Il Post · la Repubblica · Open (Oct. 6) · Corriere della Sera (cap at 2.19, Leo) · RaiNews (Eni price cap) · Il Sole 24 Ore · La Stampa (Piedmont, public transport, Nova Coop) · Mimit via the press (€2.244)
No sliding excise duties, and diesel costs 6 cents more. Caught off guard, the government reopens the file on a cut
The discount of 6.1 cents per liter expired at midnight, and the decree that was meant to replace it did not appear in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. Eni raises its cap on diesel from €2.19 to €2.25.
From Tuesday, diesel pays full excise duties again. The fixed discount of 6.1 cents per liter expired at midnight on October 6, and the sliding excise duties, the mechanism that was supposed to take its place, did not kick in: the interministerial decree between the Environment Ministry and the Economy Ministry was not published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, Il Post, la Repubblica and Open report. For the first time since March, there is no tax cut on fuel at all. All else being equal, a 50-liter fill-up costs about €3 more. On Monday Minister Urso had spoken of an intention to extend the discounts; on Tuesday morning, at the pumps, the signs told a different story. The increase comes as oil stays close to $90 a barrel: Borsa Corriere had it at $89.81 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ministry of Enterprise recorded self-service diesel at an average of €2.244 per liter on the road network. Eni has kept its price cap for October, but without taking the taxes on itself: the cap on diesel rises by 6 cents, from €2.19 to €2.25 per liter, while the one on gasoline stays at €1.99. RaiNews and Corriere della Sera confirm that the €2.19 cap has “gone.” A similar adjustment is expected for IP, Q8 and Tamoil, the other companies that joined the price curb.
Sliding excise duties do not promise a certain discount: they use the VAT windfall the State collects when crude rises, and their size depends on how prices move. For la Repubblica the government was “caught off guard” by the increases and the excise cut is back on the table; Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo, cited by Corriere, says “we are working on it.” Il Sole 24 Ore speaks of the “truth that is missing” on the deadlines. Meanwhile the increases spread: La Stampa calculates a bill of 800 million for Piedmont and reports an extra cost of 160 million for public transport; Nova Coop warns of possible repercussions on grocery bills. Outside Italy, Donald Trump promises “red diesel for everyone” at a rally against high fuel prices.