Government extends diesel discount until August 24

The Council of Ministers no.185, which met on August 4, 2026 at Palazzo Chigi under the chairmanship of Giorgia Meloni, approved a decree law extending until August 24 the reduction in the price of diesel, in response to the rise in international energy prices. The measure, which had been in force since August 7, cuts the pump price by 17 cents per liter through a combination of two interventions: a 14-cent reduction in excise duty and a 3-cent discount on VAT.

The measure does not only concern private motorists. The Council also extended the tax credit for road haulage for the entire month of August, confirming its choice to support the road freight transport sector in the face of rising fuel costs. The Prime Minister commented on the set of measures approved during the meeting with a brief statement.

“Today the Council of Ministers approved several important measures” — Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council

The extension comes against an economic backdrop that, according to a second piece of data released in the same period, appears less negative than expected. The Parliamentary Budget Office, the independent body overseeing Italian public accounts, in fact revised upward its estimates of Italian GDP growth compared to previous forecasts, indicating an expansion higher than previously estimated. It should be noted that this information currently comes from a single source (Stampa Parlamento); no independent confirmation is currently available regarding the details of the Upb’s revision.

The combination of the two elements — a direct intervention on energy costs and an upward revision of growth estimates — outlines a picture in which the government is trying to keep under control the spending of citizens and transport companies precisely as the national economy shows, according to the oversight body, better-than-expected signs. It is not clear from the available excerpts whether the Upb’s revision already takes into account the effect of the diesel extension, nor whether the two measures were discussed jointly within the Council of Ministers.

What remains a concrete fact is the extension: the 17-cent-per-liter reduction, split between excise duty and VAT, will be in force until August 24, 2026, as will the tax credit for road haulage extended for the whole month.