Talks on lowering excise duties on fuel
The Romanian government is considering measures to reduce fuel prices.
Leyla Cheamil, 31.03.2026, 13:50
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important energy transit routes in the world, is affecting the transport of oil and gas, resulting in a global fuel crisis. The blockade has led to significant fluctuations in prices on oil markets, causing hikes in petrol and diesel oil prices, including in Romania, something that is bound to be reflected in the price of products in shops.
The Romanian government is therefore considering a number of schemes to reduce the excise duty on fuel. The ruling coalition decided on Monday not to cut the VAT on the price of fuel, but only the amount of excise duty. How precisely this will be achieved has not yet been established, but government sources have said that its principles have been discussed. The government will analyse the increase in the price of an oil barrel every ten days, as well as that of the price of fuel at the pump and, if necessary, will make a 5% reduction in excise duties. The government is still to decide the percentage from which to start making the reduction, with a proposal of 10% being considered, and the maximum amount of the reduction, with 25% being a possibility.
In an interview on television, prime minister Ilie Bolojan said the government is first looking into the possibility of reducing the excise duty on diesel oil. He explained that, since the start of the war in the Middle East, the price of diesel oil has seen the highest increase recently, and those who use it have been the most affected. He also mentioned the possibility of setting up a solidarity fund, into which oil companies would pay most of the exceptional profits they make from the rise in prices. Prime minister Ilie Bolojan:
“The Romanian market has certain characteristics, in that we have companies that extract crude oil from Romania, refine crude oil in Romania, distribute crude oil and sell it at petrol stations. Then we have companies that do not extract crude oil from Romania, that only refine it here and that continue the chain. We have companies that do not refine in Romania, but in other countries, and bring the refined products to Romania. And we also have companies that simply buy from the market and resell. But those who exploit Romanian crude oil or have an entire chain behind them that allows them to make exceptional profits as a result of this crisis situation must contribute most of these exceptional profits to a solidarity fund that would allow us to fund the price reductions”.
Ilie Bolojan said that, in the next few days, the government will announce the exact level of the reduction and added that companies in the fuel sector will also contribute to financing the measure. The finance ministry is working on the technical and financial details, so that the measure is applicable and sustainable, the prime minister added.
