Italy's fuel tax breaks expire, diesel prices jump as hauliers threaten strike
Italy's last fuel tax discounts expired on Tuesday, pushing diesel prices up by €0.61 per litre, and road haulage operators are warning the sector could grind to a halt without government action.
Fuel tax breaks in Italy fully expired this Tuesday, ending a discount scheme that had been in place since last March, when it was introduced following the outbreak of conflict between the United States and Iran. As a result, diesel prices at the pump have risen by €0.61 per litre.
The government had promised to activate a so-called "mobile excise duty" mechanism, which would reuse extra VAT revenue generated by rising oil prices to soften the price increase without adding to the public deficit. However, the joint decree from the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security and the Ministry of Economy and Finance was not published in the Official Gazette in time, leaving the mechanism on hold. The rollback had already begun gradually on 26 September, when the original discount of €0.122 per litre was cut in half.
The government has also failed to reach agreement on targeted support measures for lower-income households and haulage companies, even though Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office has signalled an intention to move away from across-the-board discounts toward targeted help for those most affected by rising prices.
Hauliers sound the alarm
Industry association Assotir has raised concerns over the impact on the logistics sector. Its president, Anna Vita Manigrasso, said road haulage is going through a dramatic period and risks grinding to a halt due to diesel costs unless the industry itself decides to strike first. The association's secretary-general, Claudio Donati, has not ruled out calling a sector-wide strike, describing it as a last-resort measure.
Government and industry response
On Thursday, ministers Adolfo Urso and Gilberto Pichetto summoned major refining companies — including Eni, IP, Q8, Saras and Isab — to discuss boosting domestic production. Separately, Eni introduced a price cap of €2.19 per litre for diesel and €1.99 for petrol on 28 September, valid for 30 days. Similar price-capping measures from IP and Q8 now cover more than 11,000 service stations, over half of Italy's total network. Meanwhile, Brussels has voiced concern about a difficult winter ahead due to energy costs.
