Slovenia cuts excise duty on petrol and diesel under EU authorisation

Slovenia’s excise duty on unleaded petrol can fall to 139.50 euros per 1,000 litres and on gas oil used as propellant to 105.00 euros per 1,000 litres, under the amendment to the Excise Duties Act published in the Uradni list Republike Slovenije no. 1458/2026 of 19 September 2026. The law, Zakon o spremembah in dopolnitvi Zakona o trošarinah (ZTro-1E), also cuts the excise on gas oil for heating from 157.50 to 42.00 euros per 1,000 litres. The new rates apply only from the day the Svet (EU) implementing decision authorising Slovenia under Article 19 of Direktiva 2003/96/ES enters into force.

New ceilings written into the Excise Duties Act

Article 1 of ZTro-1E amends Article 92 of the Zakon o trošarinah (Uradni list RS, št. 47/16, 92/21, 192/21, 140/22 and 38/24). In the third paragraph, point 2.2, the figure 157.50 is replaced by 42.00. The rewritten tenth paragraph sets the minimum excise levels drawn from Annex I, tables A and C, of Direktiva 2003/96/ES, for the period and up to the level fixed by the Council implementing decision:

• Unleaded petrol: 139.50 euros per 1,000 litres.
• Gas oil for propulsion: 105.00 euros per 1,000 litres.
• Gas oil for heating: 0.00 euros per 1,000 litres.

Government empowered to lower the rates

The new Article 110.a allows the Vlada Republike Slovenije to reduce excise within the period and up to the level set by the Council decision, for the following products:

• Unleaded petrol with lead content up to 0.013 g/l and octane number (RON) below 98, and unleaded petrol with RON 98 or more: up to 139.50 euros per 1,000 litres.
• Gas oil for propulsion under tariff codes 2710 19 43 to 2710 19 48 and 2710 20 11 to 2710 20 19: up to 105.00 euros per 1,000 litres.
• Gas oil for heating under point 2.2 of Article 92: up to 0.00 euros per 1,000 litres.

Entry into force tied to the EU decision

Under Article 3, the amended tenth paragraph of Article 92 and the new Article 110.a start to apply on the day the Council implementing decision enters into force, and the minister responsible for finance publishes that date in the Uradni list Republike Slovenije. Article 4 provides that the law itself enters into force the day after publication.

The law was adopted in Ljubljana on 11 September 2026 under file no. 434-03/26-1/12, EVA 2026-1611-0076, EPA 231-X, and signed by the president of the Državni zbor Republike Slovenije, Zoran Stevanović. It was promulgated by the Ukaz št. 003-02-1/2026-186, issued by the president of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, on 19 September 2026.

The excise amendment appears in the same issue as the Zakon o začasnih ukrepih za zaščito prehranske in prometne oskrbe pred draginjo goriv (ZZUPPODG), a temporary aid scheme for road freight and passenger transport, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and mariculture. That scheme caps support at 70 percent of the additional diesel costs and uses a historical reference price of 0.75731 euros per litre, corresponding to the reference price on 30 June 2026.

The two texts together define the state’s response to fuel-price pressure: one lowers the tax floor on the fuel itself, the other compensates diesel-intensive sectors for the extra cost. For consumers, the practical effect depends on the Council decision and on the government’s subsequent move, since the law authorises the reduction but does not by itself apply it.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, št. 1458/2026, 19 September 2026, section I, p. 1-2 (official reference: EVA 2026-1611-0076, EPA 231-X, u20261458).