High fuel prices, the discount on diesel excise duties expires: Codacons requests an extension

Tomorrow 5 October the 6.1 euro cent discount on diesel excise duties will expire, a tax cut that will give way to the mobile excise duty mechanism and which could lead to increases in diesel price lists.

Codacons reminds us of this, but highlights how discounts and price caps introduced by oil brands have led to generalized price reductions throughout Italy in the last week.

Based on the study by Codacons, an association that monitors price trends in Italy every day, on the ordinary network the average price of petrol decreased in seven days by 11 euro cents, equal to a saving of 5.5 euros per full tank, while that of diesel dropped by 13.3 cents, with a lower cost of 6.65 euros per full tank.

On motorways the drop was more marked, -19 cents for petrol, -19.1 cents for diesel, equal to a saving of around 9.5 euros on a full tank.

However, Italians continue to pay 52.1 euro cents more for a liter of diesel (+30.2%) compared to the period before the conflict in Iran, with an increased expense of over 26 euros at full capacity - calculates Codacons.

The end of the 6.1 euro cent excise duty cut on diesel looms over this situation, a measure that will expire tomorrow 5 October to be replaced by the mobile excise duty mechanism - recalls the association - This is why we ask oil companies to extend discounts and price caps at least until the end of the year, considering that oil prices are still at very high levels and that the conflict in the Middle East does not seem destined to be resolved soon.

In just 6 months the high cost of fuel has cost Italian motorists over 4.7 billion euros in increased expenses for distributors, and only in July and August did the burden on refueling reach 1.7 billion euros. The data comes from Adusbef which analyzed fuel consumption on the network, calculating the impact of price increases on families' pockets.

Considering the period from March to August 2026, the liters of petrol and diesel sold on Italian roads and motorways (excluding wholesale) in every single month, and the average monthly prices of fuel at the pump, motorists spent around 30 billion euros on supplies in six months - explains Adusbef - In the same period of 2025, also thanks to a different composition of excise duties as a result of the reorganization started last January, the bill was 25.3 billion euros.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy announces that, based on the latest data collected by the Mimit Observatory on fuel prices, as of today - Sunday 4 October 2026 - the average price of fuel in 'self service' mode along the national road network is equal to 2.049 euros per liter (2.052 yesterday) for petrol and 2.244 euros per liter for diesel (2,247 yesterday). On the motorway network, however, the average self-service price is 2.064 euros for petrol and 2.268 euros for diesel.