Excise duty on diesel, Council of Ministers convened for August 26

The cut to the excise duty on diesel returns to the Council of Ministers. On August 25, 2026, a meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini, Noi Moderati leader Maurizio Lupi and Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti concluded with the convening of a Council of Ministers for August 26, with the extension of the 17-cent-per-liter reduction on the excise duty for automotive diesel on the agenda. We reported on the postponement of the deadline to August 26 on August 24, after the newspaper had published an analysis that same day based on the previous deadline (see the morning piece here).

The technical framework remains that of the Ministry of Economy decree of August 20, 2026, published in Official Gazette No. 195 of August 24: the excise duty on diesel is set at 532.90 euros per thousand liters for the days of August 25 and 26 only, with coverage of 20.8 million euros drawn from the July VAT windfall revenue. It is a measure with a two-day horizon: without the act expected from the Council of Ministers, the reduced level will not continue beyond August 26.

The new development, however, is not just the extension. In the August 25 meeting the majority discussed a subsequent measure built around income brackets, that is, a discount that is not uniform but differentiated according to beneficiaries’ economic status. An approach of this kind changes the nature of the intervention: from a general reduction in the excise duty, which applies to anyone filling up, to a selective benefit, which requires a mechanism for identifying recipients. At the moment the available material indicates neither the hypothesized income thresholds nor the administrative instrument through which the discount would be disbursed: these are elements that remain to be defined.

The second open chapter is that of oil companies’ excess profits, also discussed at the meeting. Here an institutional development has been recorded: the European Commission, approached by six member states including Italy, replied that the taxation of excess profits falls within the competence of the states, which may resort to their own national fiscal powers. The response imposes nothing and promises no European resources: it shifts the decision — and the political responsibility — to the domestic level. The newspaper had reported on August 20 on the levy on excess profits as a request from the opposition.

From the opposition, the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein commented: “Meloni and Giorgetti have no excuses. They need to get moving and act.”

Three points remain unconfirmed at this stage that will determine the scope of the intervention: the duration of the new extension, the financial coverage beyond the 20.8 million euros already committed for the two days of August 25 and 26, and whether the tax on excess profits is a funding source actually included in the measure or merely a working hypothesis. Verification comes on August 26, when the text approved by the Council of Ministers will make figures and deadlines measurable.