Lelo Calls for Temporary Abolition or Halving of Fuel Excise

The party "Lelo — Strong Georgia" demands that the excise tax on fuel be temporarily abolished or halved. Party representative Levan Samushia made the statement at a briefing held today.

According to Samushia, the price of diesel has exceeded the 5-lari mark and reached 5.07 lari. In his assessment, the price increase is especially burdensome for rural residents, as diesel is mainly used in agricultural machinery. "It is harvest season, then plowing and sowing work will begin, and the authors of the price commission, the representatives of "Georgian Dream," have no answer to this unbearable situation," Samushia said.

He said that "Georgian Dream" doubled the excise tax on fuel in 2017, which causes prices to rise. Samushia called on "Georgian Dream" to restore the excise to the 2017 level, at least temporarily.

Samushia also said that a senior "Dream" official stated today that reducing the excise would not lower fuel prices. "This is an unbelievable thing! Then why do various countries resort to such measures?" he said.

Prices of gasoline and diesel are at record levels. The cheapest gasoline, regular grade, has exceeded 4 lari, and diesel has exceeded 5 lari.

Both gasoline and diesel are classified as excise goods. The excise on a ton of gasoline (1,340 liters) is 500 lari, which equals 37 tetri per liter; this rate doubled in 2017. A ton of diesel (1,200 liters) is taxed at 400 lari, having risen from 150 to 400 lari in 2017. Per liter, this is 33 tetri. VAT is also added to the excise, so including VAT, the excise adds 44 tetri per liter to gasoline and 39 tetri to diesel. Theoretically, abolishing the excise would reduce the retail price of one liter of gasoline or diesel by 40-45 tetri.

In 2025, 375 million lari from the gasoline excise and 275 million lari from the diesel excise, a total of 650 million lari, entered the state budget. Including the VAT charged on the excise, this amount is 767 million lari.

The annual 700-770 million lari is approximately 2.5% of the expenditure part of the state budget. Even a slight reduction in fuel prices would ease inflationary pressure and reduce citizens' expenses.

Source: Netgazeti