The diesel discount hasn't ended: now Eni pays for it instead of the State

28 September 2026, 21:03

Until 17 September, on every litre of diesel sold in Italy the State gave up 17 cents in excise duty and VAT. It was costing the State about €12 million a day. Then the discount was cut, and these days it is worth 6.1 cents, until 5 October.

A few days ago, with diesel at the highest price ever recorded, Eni announced a cap at its stations: from today €2.19 a litre for diesel and €1.99 for petrol, for one month, renewable until the end of the year. About 17 cents below the national average. According to Corriere della Sera, it costs Eni €100 million a month. Two days later IP, part of the Azerbaijani group Socar, also announced a cap.

Now the sums. The full discount, kept for a month, would have cost the State about €370 million, paid by taxpayers. Eni's cap costs €100 million, paid out of the margins of the company, a third of which is owned by the State. The State's discount applied to every litre of diesel sold in Italy; the cap applies only at Eni stations. And of that €100 million, at most €60 million falls on the State: the lower VAT and taxes Eni pays it, plus its share as a shareholder. That way it saves over €300 million a month.

The other brands, so as not to lose customers, have to lower their prices. It is the mayor's café cutting the price of a coffee: the other cafés on the square have no choice.

Station operators in Figisc, one of their trade associations, protest: “Eni is taking the State's place on excise duties”. The independent, unbranded stations buy wholesale, where the cap does not apply, and they don't have the margin to come down by 17 cents.

Eni is not taking the State's place on excise duties: it is the State that is passing the problem of high fuel prices on to the market, setting the companies in the sector in competition with one another, and exploiting its position of significant influence in Eni.

So the question, for the other companies: if Eni can sell at 17 cents below for a month, how much margin was there in the old prices?

For anyone running a business the lesson is simple. When a competitor with deep pockets cuts its price, two numbers matter: how much is earned on each item sold, and for how many months the same price can be sustained. Those who don't know them find out from the customers who don't come back.

The diesel discount hasn't ended. It has only changed who pays for it.

This article was prompted by a news item published in Il Post.