From 2 May the excise duty cut was extended, although in a different way for diesel and petrol. As planned, the legislative decree was first passed in the Council of Ministers on 30 April and then the text was published in the Official Journal which confirms a cut of 24.4 cents for diesel and 6.1 cents per liter for petrol. However, there is a new deadline looming.
The dates had already been set, in fact with the decree-law the intervention was up to and including May 10th, while the service station discount will arrive until May 22nd with the ministerial decree. This is a double intervention to divide the allocated resources: the first cut from the 2nd to the 10th of May with the proceeds of the antitrust sanctions and the extra VAT revenue until the 22nd of May.
Excise tax cuts until May 22nd
Motorists and hauliers can rest assured, there are resources for cutting excise duties until May 22nd. They were not in doubt, but they were confirmed. As planned, the month of May will be covered for three weeks, after which we will have to return to discussing the terms of the fuel discounts.
On April 30, the decree-law was passed in the Council of Ministers which allows the differentiated discount between diesel and petrol:
- -24.4 cents per liter for diesel;
- -6.1 cents per liter for petrol.
Thanks to this “discount” the average price of petrol and diesel manages to remain around two euros per litre, moving forward the moment in which there is the risk of reaching the highest price for diesel in Europe.
The price of petrol and diesel
The price of petrol and diesel as of 10 May 2026 is not stable, it varies from day to day based on the international situation, but remains around two euros per litre.
The price of petrol is:
- self-service on the street 1,934 euros per litre;
- self-service on the motorway 2,000 per litre.
The current average price is therefore higher than the weekly average from 28 April to 4 May, when it was 1.789 euros per litre, but still down compared to 9 May. At the moment the province where the average daily price is highest is Crotone, followed by Nuoro and Verbania. While in Sondrio the average daily price is the lowest, together with Ancona and Fermo.
Instead the price of diesel is:
- self-service on the street 2,026 euros per litre;
- self-service on the motorway 2,093 euros per litre.
Also in this case, the average price of diesel on May 10th decreased compared to the previous day. The province where the average price is highest is Nuoro, followed by Trieste and Agrigento, while Sondrio is still the province with the lowest price, together with Biella and Barletta-Andria-Trani.
Double intervention for resources
From 11 May, the excise duty cut remains in force and can also do so thanks to the double intervention. The first covered from May 2nd up to and including May 10th, while the second intervention runs from May 11th to May 22nd inclusive.
The total is three weeks covered with the new decree-law which exploited two types of resources. The first used 146.5 million euros obtained from Antitrust sanctions. The second, which allows coverage until May 22nd, is instead supported by the extra VAT revenue.
This is calculated on the first week of each month and had therefore not been able to be applied immediately from 2 May. Between April 1st and 30th, the revenue achieved amounted to 191.2 million euros.
What will happen after May 22nd
Now it remains to be seen what will happen after May 22nd. All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz and the conditions of the United States and Iran for the end of the conflict.
Without new intervention, with fuel prices continuing to be high, from May 23rd petrol will cost around 2 euros per liter while diesel will rise to almost 2.3 euros per litre.
