Excise duties, the Council of Ministers extends the diesel discount to September 5

The Council of Ministers, meeting at 6 p.m. on August 26, approved a decree law on oil prices that extends until September 5 the 17-cent cut on the diesel excise duty, otherwise set to expire that same day (ANSA; Sky TG24). The convening of the Council had been decided at the majority coalition meeting we reported on August 25.

The extension runs for ten days and does not settle the matter. In the same session the government confirmed its intention to replace the across-the-board discount with selective measures, calibrated by income bracket and professional category; forms, requirements and funding remain to be defined in the coming days (ANSA; Il Messaggero). On this point the approved text does not yet provide verifiable parameters: who will be included, at what income threshold and through what instrument — a discount at the pump, a tax credit or a direct transfer — has not been specified.

Today’s step should be read alongside the measure that preceded it. The Ministry of Economy decree of August 20, published in the Official Gazette no. 195 of August 24, had covered only two days, August 25 and 26, resetting the diesel excise duty at 532.90 euros per thousand liters and drawing on 20.8 million euros in additional VAT revenue from July (Quotidianopiù). The sequence is thus one of very short-term interventions, each with its own funding: today’s decree law extends the horizon to ten days, without making it permanent.

Overall, the fuel discount has continued with varying adjustments since March 19, 2026 through seven successive measures, for a spending commitment of about 2 billion euros (AGI). This is the figure that explains the announced choice to narrow the pool of beneficiaries: the cost of an across-the-board discount grows in proportion to total consumption, while that of selective support depends on the size of the eligible category.

Prices, meanwhile, continue to rise. According to the Price Observatory of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, on August 26 self-service prices on the road network stood at 2.017 euros per liter for gasoline and 2.137 for diesel; on the motorway the figures were 2.092 and 2.208 euros per liter respectively (ANSA).

The two government voices who commented on the decision described the extension as a bridging measure. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini said: “For now we will extend the diesel discount and then we are working on something longer-term” (AGI). Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke of a measure that “extends the decision already adopted at the last Council of Ministers” (Sky TG24).

The next deadline is September 5. By that date the government must specify the requirements and funding of the selective mechanism, or decide on a further extension: once diesel returns to 532.90 euros per thousand liters, the 17-cent cut would cease to apply.