After the two-step increase in excise duties and the light depreciation of the Romanian leu against the euro, Romania posts the highest excise duty on fuels between neighboring countries.
According to the most recent European Commission’s Oil Bulletin, the excise duty on gasoline in Romania is now EUR 431 for 1,000 liters after the government raised the tax on September 15 and October 1.
All the EU countries around Romania thus have a lower level of this tax. In Bulgaria, for example, the excise duty is only EUR 363 and EUR 395 in Hungary, according to the latest statistical data. In Poland, the excise duty is EUR 393 for 1,000 liters.
The situation is the same for diesel, the best-selling fuel in Romania. Now, the excise duty in Romania is EUR 401 for 1,000 liters. In Bulgaria, it is EUR 70 lower, meaning EUR 330 for 1,000 liters, and in Hungary – EUR 364. The Polish government is also charging this fuel, but more easily than in Romania: the excise is only EUR 344.
Regarding the final fuel price at the pump, in Romania it still is the third lowest price in the EU for gasoline (EUR 1.1 per liter, on average), after Bulgaria and Poland. For diesel, the situation is worse. Cheaper than in Romania it is at the pumps in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland and even Spain.