Italy cuts diesel excise duty until 5 October and extends tax credit for hauliers

The Italian government published, on 17 September, Decree-Law No. 162/2026 (Gazzetta Ufficiale, Official Gazette No. 216), which temporarily cuts excise duty on road diesel and extends the tax credit for Italian hauliers — a direct response to rising fuel prices in the region.

A two-step discount, until 5 October

The excise duty cut applies in two phases, cross-confirmed by specialised Italian sources (Certifico, Vado e Torno Web):

• 18 to 25 September — excise duty set at €572.90/1000 litres, equivalent to a discount of about 10 cents per litre.
• 26 September to 5 October — excise duty rises to €622.90/1000 litres, reducing the discount to about 5 cents per litre.

Anyone crossing or operating in Italy during this window finds diesel cheaper at the pump, on a temporary and shrinking basis — worth concentrating refuelling in the first phase, route allowing.

One more month of tax credit for Italian hauliers

The same decree extends by one more month, into October, the tax credit that compensates hauliers based in Italy — vehicles with gross weight of 7.5 tonnes or more, Euro 5 or higher — for diesel costs above the reference price set in February 2026, with an extra €21.2 million in funding.

This mechanism does not apply to Portuguese hauliers without a base in Italy, but is relevant to anyone contracting or competing with Italian operators in that market.