Diesel 234, Gasoline 205 Dinars: Tax Cut Ends Sunday
Fuel prices in Serbia are rising again: diesel is now 234 dinars and gasoline 205 dinars per liter. The new price holds until September 11, while the 20 percent excise tax cut expires on September 6.
The price of diesel in Serbia climbs today, September 4, at 3 PM, to 234 dinars per liter, while gasoline rises to 205 dinars. The new maximum retail prices, which change weekly at every gas station in the country under the current regulation, will hold until Friday, September 11.
Compared to last week, when diesel cost 232 dinars and gasoline 203 dinars per liter, both fuels went up by two dinars each. It is the second consecutive weekly increase: a week before that, diesel stood at 231 dinars and gasoline at 202.
Why Prices Are Rising Now
The jump at the pump lands just as the temporary cut to excise taxes on petroleum products, which the government renews week after week, is set to expire this Sunday, September 6. The 20 percent reduction currently holds the excise tax at 61.24 dinars per liter for leaded gasoline, 57.60 dinars for unleaded gasoline, and 59.23 dinars for gas oil, meaning diesel.
The decision to extend this reduction, following the previous one that ran through August 30, was signed by Prime Minister Djuro Macut. It is only the latest in a string of similar moves: the government has been trimming the excise tax on fuel a few weeks at a time, extending it in late August and again in early September, while crude oil prices on the world market stay elevated.
Alongside the extended excise tax cut, the government also extended the ban on exporting oil and petroleum products until September 30, as well as the cap on retail fuel prices for another 60 days. The three measures work together: the price cap at the pump, the lower excise tax, and the export ban are tools the state is using to slow how quickly rising crude prices feed through into domestic prices.
What Happens on Sunday
Once the excise tax cut expires on Sunday, September 6, the next weekly price change, taking effect Friday, September 11, will be the first sign of whether the government extends the reduction again or lets the excise tax revert to its regular level. So far there is no word that the cut will be extended past September 6, even though the export ban and the retail price cap are already locked in for the longer term, through the end of September.
For drivers, this week’s two-dinar increase is the smaller concern. The bigger question is whether the government issues a new decision on excise taxes in the coming days before the current one runs out, as it did week after week through August, or whether the lack of such a decision next week brings another jump in diesel and gasoline prices.
