Italy’s government has extended a 17-cent-per-litre tax discount on diesel fuel through Aug 25, pushing back a deadline that had been set to expire on Aug 6. The Council of Ministers approved the measure on Aug 4, with no corresponding reduction applied to petrol.
The discount, originally introduced on July 28 amid fuel-price spikes linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, costs an estimated 245 million euros, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said, with funding drawn from ministry spending cuts. Consumer group Codacons has calculated the effective savings at just over 8 cents per litre due to rising crude prices.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said a floating excise-duty mechanism will take effect from Aug 25. Diesel currently averages about 2.10 euros per litre on ordinary roads.