Romania's excise duty on standard diesel stays cut by 25% for 1–15 November 2026: 2,103.22 lei per 1,000 litres, 701.07 lei below the standard level in the Fiscal Code. With VAT, the difference is 0.85 lei per litre, or 42.41 lei for a 50-litre tank. Separately, the government has extended the fuel-market crisis by Government Decision 937/2026, and the excise-cut mechanism continues, with a review every two weeks, until 31 January 2027.
The excise figures are the Ministry of Finance's and the extension figures are the government's. The per-litre and per-tank calculations are by fuel-prices.eu, with 21% VAT, and are explained below. The diesel price comes from the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin (CC BY 4.0). Romanian prices are in lei (RON); 1 € = 5.3473 lei at the bulletin's rate.
What the Ministry of Finance decided for 1–15 November
„Nivelul accizei […] se diminuează temporar cu 25%, reprezentând 701,07 lei/1.000 litri, respectiv 829,69 lei/tonă. Nivelul diminuat al accizei, aplicabil în segmentul bilunar 1 – 15 noiembrie 2026, inclusiv, pentru motorina standard comercializată pe piața internă este de 2.103,22 lei/1.000 litri, respectiv 2.489,05 lei/tonă.”
— Ministry of Finance, “Excise regime” page, decision published on 31 October 2026 (in Romanian)
Our translation: “The excise level […] is temporarily reduced by 25%, i.e. by 701.07 lei per 1,000 litres or 829.69 lei per tonne. The reduced excise level for standard diesel sold on the domestic market, applicable in the half-month period 1–15 November 2026 inclusive, is 2,103.22 lei per 1,000 litres or 2,489.05 lei per tonne.”
The size of the cut follows two indicators set by the law: the change in Platts quotations for diesel (VPM) and the change in the average pump price of standard diesel (VM). For the first half of November the ministry calculated VPM at +52.46% and VM at +35.32%, and the cut stayed at 25%, the highest step the law allows. The cut applies only to standard diesel: petrol is not part of the mechanism, and the excise on standard petrol stays at 3,059.80 lei per 1,000 litres.
The extension: Government Decision 937/2026
Law 162/2026 declared a crisis on the crude oil and petroleum products market for 7 August – 31 October 2026, extendable by government decision for up to three months at a time. The government adopted the extension at its meeting on 30 October 2026; the Ministry of Finance cites it as Government Decision no. 937/2026. According to the government's press release, the crisis is extended by three months, “from 1 November 2026 to 1 February 2027”, and for the excise:
„Mecanismul de diminuare a accizei la motorina standard continuă pe segmentele bilunare cuprinse între 1 noiembrie 2026 și 31 ianuarie 2027, cu aceeași perioadă de referință fixă, aceleași praguri și aceleași trepte de diminuare.”
— Romanian Government, press release of 30 October 2026 (in Romanian)
Our translation: “The mechanism for reducing the excise on standard diesel continues in half-month periods between 1 November 2026 and 31 January 2027, with the same fixed reference period, the same thresholds and the same reduction steps.”
This does not mean the 25% cut is guaranteed until 31 January 2027: the step is recalculated every two weeks and can fall, or drop to zero, if the indicators go below the thresholds.
What it means at the pump
| lei per 1,000 l | lei per litre excl. VAT | lei per litre incl. 21% VAT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard excise 2026 (Fiscal Code) | 2,804.29 | 2.8043 | 3.3932 |
| Excise for 1–15 November 2026 | 2,103.22 | 2.1032 | 2.5449 |
| Difference = the 25% cut | 701.07 | 0.7011 | 0.8483 |
For a 50-litre tank: 701.07 ÷ 1,000 × 50 = 35.05 lei excluding VAT; × 1.21 = 42.41 lei including VAT. The 21% VAT is the standard rate in the Fiscal Code and is charged on top of the excise as well.
The diesel price, and what it would be without the cut
In the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin, the latest average price of diesel in Romania, all taxes included, is 10.89 lei per litre (€2.037 per litre at the bulletin's rate, 1 € = 5.3473 lei), for the week of 26 October 2026. A 50-litre tank at that price costs 544.50 lei.
Without the cut, and if the excise difference were passed on in full at the pump, the average would be around 11.74 lei per litre (10.89 + 0.85), and a 50-litre tank would cost 42.41 lei more. The cut would be about 7.2% of the price without it. This is an assumption, not a measurement: pump prices also depend on international quotations, the exchange rate and retail margins.
Why the bulletin and not the daily station average: since 9 October 2026, Romania's Fuel Price Monitor has stopped updating prices for most stations, so the daily average we calculate from that data no longer reflects the market. The EU bulletin is the national average reported weekly to the European Commission.
History of the cut
| Period | Step | Effective excise, lei per 1,000 l | Cut, lei per 1,000 l | VPM / VM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16–31 August | −20% | 2,243.43 | 560.86= 0.6786 lei/l incl. VAT | +34.13% / +23.01% |
| 1–15 September | −25% | 2,103.22 | 701.07= 0.8483 lei/l incl. VAT | +45.65% / +25.45% |
| 16–30 September | −25% | 2,103.22 | 701.07= 0.8483 lei/l incl. VAT | +51.19% / +27.47% |
| 1–15 October | −25% | 2,103.22 | 701.07= 0.8483 lei/l incl. VAT | +63.70% / +35.01% |
| 16–31 October | −25% | 2,103.22 | 701.07= 0.8483 lei/l incl. VAT | +47.78% / +35.60% |
| 1–15 November · now | −25% | 2,103.22 | 701.07= 0.8483 lei/l incl. VAT | +52.46% / +35.32% |
VPM = change in Platts quotations for diesel; VM = change in the average pump price of standard diesel, both calculated by the Ministry of Finance at each review. The previous decision, for 1–15 October, is explained in our article of 1 October.
In the bulletin, diesel averaged 10.55 lei per litre in the week of 10 August, 10.64 lei in the week of 17 August (the first after the cut took effect on 16 August) and 10.19 lei in the week of 24 August. It then rose to 11.02 lei in the week of 21 September, and in October it stayed almost unchanged, between 10.89 and 10.94 lei per litre.
Frequently asked questions
What is Romania's diesel excise for 1–15 November 2026?
For standard diesel, 2,103.22 lei per 1,000 litres, i.e. 2.1032 lei per litre excluding VAT and 2.5449 lei per litre including 21% VAT. It is the standard Fiscal Code level, 2,804.29 lei per 1,000 l, cut by 25%. Petrol has no cut.
Until when does the diesel excise cut apply?
Government Decision 937/2026 extends the mechanism to 31 January 2027 and the crisis period to 1 February 2027. The size of the cut, however, is set two weeks at a time: the current decision covers only 1–15 November 2026.
What happens after 15 November?
The Ministry of Finance reviews the cut around 15 November 2026, for 16–30 November. If the cut were removed entirely and passed on in full at the pump, diesel would rise by 0.85 lei per litre (42.41 lei for a 50-litre tank).
More on fuel-prices.eu
- Romania's diesel excise explained: every possible step and what each would mean at the pump.
- Fuel prices in Romania from the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin.
- How much of the pump price is tax: excise, VAT and product.
- Map of station prices in Romania.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance, “Excise regime” page: the decision for 1–15 November 2026 and every earlier decision in the table (in Romanian).
- Extension: Government Decision no. 937/2026, adopted on 30 October 2026; government press release (in Romanian). The Official Journal number was not yet available when this article was published.
- Law 162/2026, Official Journal no. 642 of 4 August 2026.
- Standard excise 2026: Fiscal Code, annex 1 (2,804.29 lei per 1,000 l).
- Diesel price: European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin (CC BY 4.0), week of 26 October 2026; lei calculated by fuel-prices.eu at the bulletin's exchange rate.
Editorial article by fuel-prices.eu, published on 2 November 2026. Calculations and assumptions are marked as such in the text.