Dear fuels and tax cuts. Consumer associations: "Good, but twenty days are not enough"

With the publication in the Official Gazette of the fuel decree, the cut in excise duties introduced by the Government to stabilize pump prices and mitigate the impact on consumer goods, exacerbated by recent tensions in the Middle East, becomes operational. According to an analysis of the text conducted by Codacons, the reduction in rates amounts to 20 cents per liter, which rises to 24.4 cents when considering the impact of VAT. For motorists, the measure translates into an estimated savings of 12.2 euros on a full tank of 50 liters. Thanks to this intervention, the national average prices drop to 1.859 euros per liter for diesel and 1.623 euros for gasoline, while on the highway network they stand at 1.925 and 1.706 euros, respectively.

Citizen protection associations welcome the measure positively but raise strong doubts about its actual impact. Both Federconsumatori and Codacons consider the duration of only twenty days established by the decree to be completely insufficient. The concern is that such a narrow time window is inadequate, considering the dynamics of the oil market, known for its rapid absorption of price increases and slow response to declines. Adding to the complexity are reports of speculative movements: according to the associations, numerous distributors would have raised their prices just before the Council of Ministers, partially undermining the effectiveness of the tax cut.

Criticism also targets the overall framework of government countermeasures. While the strengthening of investigative powers granted to "Mr. Prices" is appreciated, there are calls for its extension to monitor and sanction speculation on the entire basket of goods and services, not just in the energy sector. Federconsumatori also highlights the limitations of the incentives aimed at logistics, which are restricted to heavy transport only.

To address a situation that continues to erode the purchasing power of families, the main consumer organizations have requested an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister. The goal is to urge structural interventions, starting with a restructuring of VAT on essential goods and the long-standing demand for the exemption of excise duties from the taxable base for calculating VAT on fuels. The associations finally announce a comprehensive monitoring of the distribution network to verify the correct application of discounts at the pump.