Potential increase in fuel prices – Law on Excise Taxes allows for change of oil product prices

In line with the current Law on Excise Taxes, the price of oil products in Serbia might soon increase by slightly over one diner per liter on average. The current law allows for the excise tax on oil products to be harmonized with the growth of the retail prices in the previous year.

As the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia recently announced, the growth of retail prices in 2019 amounted to 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. This means that the oil products, taking into account the VAT as well, might increase by the same amount.

As the excise tax on BMB 95 petroleum is currently 56.02 dinars, the new price, when the index of the growth of retail prices is added to it, could be 56.99 dinars, and when the VAT is added to it, the increase in the price of a liter of unleaded petroleum would be more than 1.14 dinars.

The current excise tax on a liter of Eurodiesel is 57.63 dinars, and with an increase by 1.7%, it would be 58.61 dinars. Adding VAT to it brings the price increase up to 1.18 dinars per liter.

It's similar with the liquefied natural gas, the excise tax on which is 43.76 dinars per kilogram. The new excise tax of 44.50 dinars and the VAT would make for a price increase of 0.89 dinars.

Bioderivatives and biofuels would become more expensive as well. With the current excise tax at 56.30 dinars and the potential new one at 57.62 dinars per liter and accounting for VAT, the increase would amount to 1.15 dinars.

The state can, but doesn't have to calculate the index in the excise tax, explains Tomislav Micovic, the secretary general of the Association of Oil Companies of Serbia.

– It is not known when this might happen either, as there are no deadlines. One year, the increase took place in mid-March, and last year it happened on February 1.

Udruženje naftnih kompanija Srbije Beograd

Republički zavod za statistiku

Law on Excise Taxes

Tomislav Mićović

excise taxes on oil products

price of fuel

increase of fuel prices