While the Italian government weighs new measures on fuel excise duties to curb rising prices, San Marino continues to see a rush for cheap petrol. In recent days numerous motorists, many of them arriving from Italy, have headed to filling stations on the Titano, drawn by the price gap. At the Eni station in Borgo Maggiore, demand was so high that over the weekend both petrol and diesel ran out, forcing the operator to wait for a new delivery.
The reason is largely economic. In recent days, at the same San Marino station, petrol was priced at €1.74 per litre and diesel at €1.99. On top of these lower rates comes San Marino’s own mechanism offering a rebate of 20 cents per litre via the Smac card, a measure that has been extended until 31 October. The benefit is also available to non-residents, provided they register.
This situation makes developments in Italy all the more keenly awaited. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has confirmed that the government is ready to step in again, particularly through the so-called floating excise duty mechanism. By September, the premier explained at the close of the Med9 summit in Split, around €170 million should be available for this purpose.
No decision has been made yet, however. The government is weighing whether to use these funds immediately or set them aside to intervene once current containment measures expire. Much will also depend on how well the price cap — the ceiling some companies apply to their prices — holds up.
The floating excise duty option was also confirmed by Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini. The mechanism would essentially allow the government to use the extra VAT revenue generated by rising fuel prices to fund a reduction in excise duties.
Meanwhile, San Marino remains an attractive alternative, especially for those living close to the border. In recent days, queues of cars with Italian number plates have formed, with some drivers even arriving with jerry cans to fill. Based on prices recorded in recent days, filling up with 50 litres in San Marino rather than at Eni stations in Italy saved drivers around €12.50 on petrol and €10 on diesel.
At the same time, Rome is asking the European Union for greater flexibility on public finances to deal with the effects of inflation. According to Meloni, rising prices translate into billions of euros in additional automatic spending for the state, from pension and child benefit adjustments to higher costs for projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr).
