Non-road diesel: a 20-cent per litre aid for the constructi…

Decree No. 2026-1023 of November 3, 2026, published in the Official Journal of November 4, 2026 (JORF No. 0258, NOR: PMEI2628139D), establishes a subsidy of 20 euro cents per liter of non-road diesel invoiced in November and December 2026 for the benefit of building and public works companies. The text, introduced by the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade, Crafts, Tourism, and Purchasing Power, caps the aid at 4,000 euros per month per company. Applications are submitted electronically via impots.gouv.fr, from December 1 to 31, 2026, for the month of November.

Monthly aid renewed since spring

The mechanism is part of a series of monthly measures that the executive has been renewing for several months: Article 4 of the decree expressly refers to the decrees of May 8, June 30, August 1, September 9, and October 2, 2026. Decree No. 2026-850 of September 9, 2026, thus covered the month of August alone, with identical parameters — 20 cents per liter, a 4,000 euro cap — and a one-month filing window.

The price context remains tense. The opinion regarding the national indices for building and public works published in JORF No. 0242 of October 16, 2026 (NOR: ECOO2627615V) estimates the provisional evolution of the non-road diesel price index for public works between August and September 2026 at + 9.6%, within a “context of crisis in the Middle East.” For comparison, Decree No. 2026-982 of October 23, 2026, opened aid for agricultural and forestry work at 15 cents per liter delivered, over four months.

Who is eligible for the subsidy

The aid is reserved for natural and legal persons under private law who are French tax residents operating in the construction sector (BTP), subject to cumulative conditions:

carry out its main activity in one of the sixteen sectors listed in the annex to the decree (construction of roads and highways, civil engineering structures, tunnels, fluid networks, demolition work, earthworks, drilling and sounding, general masonry and structural work, framing…), as of March 31, 2026;
operate equipment defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 of September 14, 2016;
be registered in the national directory of enterprises and their establishments (Article R. 123-220 of the Commercial Code) as of March 31, 2026;
have no more than 50 employees, within the meaning of I of Article L. 130-1 of the Social Security Code;
achieve a turnover of less than 50 million euros or a total balance sheet of less than 43 million euros, both thresholds being assessed at the group level in the event of an audit;
not be dissolved or struck off as of August 31, 2026, nor be in safeguard, reorganization, or judicial liquidation proceedings;
be up to date with filing obligations and have no unpaid tax or social security debts as of August 31, 2026, with debts less than or equal to 1,500 euros being neutralized.

Twenty cents per liter, up to a limit of 4,000 euros

The subsidy, granted by the General Directorate of Public Finances, is equal to 20 euro cents per liter of non-road diesel invoiced during the month in question, up to a limit of 4,000 euros per company per month. It is paid into the bank account provided by the beneficiary and granted in compliance with Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831 of December 13, 2023: its amount may be reduced so as not to exceed the “de minimis” ceiling, taking into account all aid received under Regulations (EU) 1407/2013 and 2023/2831 over three rolling years.

One application per month, on impots.gouv.fr

Only one application per company per month; subsequent applications may be rejected.
Month of November 2026: submission from December 1 to 31, 2026 inclusive.
Month of December 2026: submission from January 4 to 31, 2027 inclusive.
Required documents: sworn statement, all non-road diesel (NRD) purchase invoices for the month, summary file using the mandatory template, sector of activity, bank details, and the amount of aid received over three years.
15-day deadline to provide additional information requested by the administration.

Repayment if the operating surplus is maintained

The decree introduces a safeguard: when the aid received for a given month exceeds 600 euros, it must be repaid in full if the gross operating surplus for the financial year is positive and greater than or equal to 98% of that of the previous year. An order from the minister in charge of crafts shall specify the required supporting documents; failing transmission, the general directorate of public finances shall recover the sums. The administration retains the files for ten years, the beneficiary for five years—with one month allowed to respond to any request for documents. The granting of the aid is published on the “State Aid” platform within twenty working days.

For construction companies, the immediate issue is cash flow: the subsidy relates to an expense item directly indexed to site activity, but the application window for the month of November closes on December 31, 2026, and the benefit of the aid remains conditional upon the production of purchase invoices for non-road diesel and the maintenance of the operating surplus.

Source : Official Journal of the French Republic, JORF No. 0258 of November 4, 2026, decree No. 2026-1023 of November 3, 2026 establishing aid for companies in the building and public works sector using non-road diesel (NOR: PMEI2628139D).