It is now certain that from tomorrow 22 March (but only for a month) the price per liter of petrol and diesel will be discounted by 25 cents. This is what is foreseen by the Energy Decree, voted on Friday which provides, among other things, the reduction in excise duty that the Government has decided as a move to counter the expensive fuel which for the past few weeks had made prices soar well beyond 2 euros. per liter for all fuels. Today, the decree should be published in the Official Gazette and therefore would enter into force from tomorrow, but it will have a deadline, which is April 30th. From 1 May it is not yet clear what will happen to the price of fuel, but it is unlikely (everyone hopes) that it will return to the costs of the past few weeks.
To obtain this discount of 25 cents, the Government taxed 10% on the extra profits of the energy companies and used the extra VAT revenue relating to the first months of 2022 affected by the rise in prices. This “sting” on energy companies is also a warning from the Government to keep prices within a certain regime from 1 May, when, as mentioned, the Decree will expire. It is no coincidence that several prosecutors have launched investigations to see if there have been speculations (or “scams”, as stated by the Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani) which have led to an unjustified increase in the price of petrol and diesel.
Price of petrol and diesel discounted by 25 cents: the tank drops by 15 euros
The first estimates of the reduction in the price per liter of petrol and diesel are made Codacons which explains how the actual savings on a full tank will be on average about 15 euros per full tank. In fact, the government’s maneuver will make it possible to see a drop in prices at the pump for a total of 30.5 cents, also due to the 22% VAT that is applied to the excise duty. In practice, taking into consideration the latest official prices communicated by the Mite, from tomorrow gasoline will cost an average of 1,879 euros per liter, while diesel 1,849 euros.
But all this, according to the Codacons, is not satisfactory. In fact, we read on the Association’s website “if we analyze the trend in fuel prices over the last year, we discover that the balance is still heavily at a loss for consumers: compared to the same period of 2021, in fact, gasoline today costs 39.4% more (2,184 euros per liter), diesel fuel even 50% more (2,154 euros / liter). Increases that produce a greater outlay for families equal to +30.9 euros for a full tank of petrol, +35.9 euros for a full tank of diesel “.