Treasury sets new variable components for the fuel tax

The Ministry of Finance determined the variable components of the specific fuel tax established by Law No. 18,502, effective as of October 8, 2026. The measure was arranged via exempt decree No. 276, signed in Santiago on October 6, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, No. 44,568, Section I, page 1 (official reference: CVE 2883742).

The framework of the stabilization mechanism

The adjustment is issued by virtue of Article 3 of Law No. 20,765, which created the Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism, and its regulation, approved by supreme decree No. 1,119 of 2014 from the Ministry of Finance. The regulation also invokes Law No. 20,794, which extended the coverage of said mechanism, and exempt decree No. 103 of March 20, 2026.

To set the values, the Ministry of Finance considered ordinary letters No. 938 and No. 939, both dated October 6, 2026, from the National Energy Commission, in addition to supreme decree No. 38 of 2026 from the Ministry of the Interior and resolution No. 36 of 2024 from the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The variable component may be added to or subtracted from the base component as provided in Article 3 of Law No. 20,765 and Article 8 of its regulation. On this occasion, all determined values are negative, which reduces the resulting rate.

The variable components by fuel

The fixed values, expressed in UTM per cubic meter, are as follows:

93-octane automotive gasoline: -4.3337 UTM/m³.
97-octane automotive gasoline: -5.1784 UTM/m³.
Diesel fuel: -4.0144 UTM/m³.
Liquefied petroleum gas for vehicle consumption: -0.1923 UTM/m³.
Compressed natural gas for vehicle consumption: -0.2922 UTM/1000 m³.

The resulting rates for the week

By adding the base component and the variable component, the decree determines the specific tax rates that will govern for the week beginning Thursday, October 8, 2026:

93-octane gasoline: base 6.0000 and resulting rate 1.6663 UTM/m³.
97-octane gasoline: base 6.0000 and resulting rate 0.8216 UTM/m³.
Diesel fuel: base 1.5000 and resulting rate -2.5144 UTM/m³.
LPG for vehicle consumption: base 1.4000 and resulting rate 1.2077 UTM/m³.
CNG for vehicle consumption: base 1.9300 and resulting rate 1.6378 UTM/1000 m³.

The text further provides that the decreed measure be published on the institutional website of the Ministry of Finance via a technical report, in accordance with Article 5 of Law No. 20,765. The administrative act bears the signature of the Minister of Finance, Jorge Antonio Quiroz Castro, by order of the President of the Republic.

Impact on the final price

The weekly update of the variable component directly affects the price of gasoline, diesel, LPG, and CNG paid by households and freight and passenger transport. With the published values, the reduction is greater for 97-octane gasoline and diesel, whose resulting specific tax remains in negative territory, while vehicular LPG and CNG maintain positive but reduced rates relative to their base component.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,568, Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Section I, p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2883742).