PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th May, 2023) The government of the Czech Republic has decided to reinstate the previous amount of excise duty on diesel fuel starting from July 1, 2023, which is six months ahead of schedule, Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka has said.
The Czech Republic decreased its excise tax on diesel in 2022 due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, which led to a surge in fuel prices worldwide.
"Reduced by 1.5 korunas ($0.06), the amount of the excise tax on one liter (0.26 gallon) of diesel fuel was planned to be valid until the end of this year. However, considering the significant improvement of the situation with energy and car fuel prices in Europe, the government has decided to return to the previous amount of the excise tax (9.95 korunas) starting from July 1," Kupka told journalists on Thursday.
The measure is expected to bring in an additional 727 million korunas to the Czech state budget every month, the minister said. When the government decided to reduce the excise last year, one liter of diesel used to cost over 44 korunas at gas stations, and now its average price is about 32 korunas, Kupka noted.
In 2022, the excise for gasoline was also cut by 1.5 korunas per liter, but was returned to the previous amount of 12.84 korunas earlier than diesel, namely from September 1, 2022.
Currently, the average price for one liter of diesel in the Czech Republic is at its lowest point (32 korunas) in the last 19 months; at the same time, the average price for one liter of gasoline has fallen by about 5 korunas in the last three months and is now about 37 korunas, according to the data of CCS, a company monitoring fuel prices in the republic since 2005.
Many European countries, including the Czech Republic, have faced a massive energy crisis as part of the post-pandemic global economic recession. The situation further exacerbated against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis, since the hostilities and Western sanctions against Moscow have led to disruptions of supply chains and resulted in a spike in energy prices worldwide.
