Germany passes temporary fuel tax relief: from October, gasoline and diesel will be taxed about 17 euro cents less per liter

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 25, the German Bundestag passed a legislative amendment to temporarily lower the energy tax on gasoline and diesel. The German Bundesrat subsequently raised no objections, and the related measures will take effect on October 1. The energy tax rate on gasoline and diesel will be reduced by 14.04 euro cents per liter. After including the resulting reduction in value-added tax, the reduction in the end tax burden will be about 17 euro cents per liter. The measure will remain in effect until December 31, 2026. The German Federal Ministry of Finance estimates that the measure will reduce tax revenue for the federal and state governments by about 2.5 billion euros.

The German Bundestag passed the relevant amendment that day with 434 votes in favor, 128 against, and 0 abstentions. The fuel tax adjustment was incorporated into the relevant provisions of the Act on the Recovery, Resolution and Supervision of Insurance Undertakings, amending the Energy Tax Act and its implementing regulations. The German Bundesrat completed its review the same day and did not request the initiation of the mediation procedure between the two chambers, so the law now meets the conditions for implementation as planned.

This tax rate adjustment applies to gasoline, diesel, and equivalent fuels taxed at the gasoline and diesel rates, including hydrotreated vegetable oil HVO. The energy tax on gasoline and diesel is uniformly reduced by 14.04 euro cents per liter, with the diesel tax rate already reduced to the minimum level permitted under EU regulations. After the tax rate reduction, the value-added tax corresponding to the energy tax is also reduced. According to calculations by the German Federal Ministry of Finance, the combined tax burden per liter will be reduced by up to about 17 euro cents.

The implementation period for this measure is from October 1 to December 31, 2026, a total of three months. The German government had previously implemented a round of temporary fuel tax relief from May to June 2026, with a fiscal cost of about 1.6 billion euros at that time. This round of measures continues to use the approach of a time-limited reduction in energy tax and extends the implementation period to three months.

The German Federal Ministry of Finance directly links this round of adjustment to recent fuel price increases and explicitly includes logistics, skilled trades, and other industries that use large amounts of fuel among the policy coverage targets. The tax rate adjustment is implemented at the taxation stage, and the final retail price also depends on refining, wholesale, transportation, and gas station pricing, among other stages.