Diesel costs climb in Italy after fuel tax cuts end
A replacement tax mechanism remains pending, and haulage association Assotir says a strike is still possible.
The expiry of Italy’s latest fuel tax relief at midnight has added €0.61 per litre to diesel costs, prompting warnings from hauliers about possible stoppages. The government’s planned replacement has not taken effect because the necessary decree has yet to appear in the Official Gazette.
Claudio Donati, secretary-general of haulage association Assotir, said a strike across the sector could not be excluded, though he described it as a last resort. Assotir president Anna Vita Manigrasso warned that operators might halt work because of diesel expenses even without taking protest action.
Fuel tax relief is now absent for the first time since March. The phase-out started on 26 September with a halving of the original €0.122-per-litre discount. The government plans to shift from general reductions to targeted assistance, but support for lower-income households and haulage operators still lacks political agreement.
The proposed mobile excise mechanism would redirect extra VAT income generated by crude oil price increases during the previous month. It would avoid adding to the deficit, while providing smaller reductions than discounts financed through public spending.
Ministers Adolfo Urso and Gilberto Pichetto have called in refiners Eni, IP, Q8, Saras and Isab to examine a possible increase in domestic production. Meanwhile, Eni set a 30-day ceiling across Enilive stations from 28 September: €2.19 per litre for diesel and €1.99 for petrol. Including measures by IP and Q8, private price caps and variable discounts cover more than 11,000 stations, representing over half Italy’s network.
