Portugal is in the top-10 of countries with the most expensive fuels. More than half of the final price corresponds to taxes.
Portugal remained, in the third quarter of this year, among the European Union (EU) countries with the highest fuel prices, with a tax burden higher than the community average, according to data released this Friday by ERSE.
According to the bulletin “Fuel Prices in the EU-27” from the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), Portugal ranked 8th among the countries with the most expensive simple 95 gasoline and 9th in simple dieselboth with average sales prices higher than the European average.
Already Gasoline 95 simple, the average national selling price was 1,697 euros per liter, of which 56% correspond to taxes, above the EU average (55.2%) and Spain (49.2%). The Portuguese price, with taxes, was 21.3 cents per liter higher than Spanishalthough, before taxes, is 0.9 cents lower.
No diesel simple, the national average price reached 1,570 euros per liter, with a tax burden of 51%, also higher than the Community average (49.6%) and the Spanish average (44%). Portuguese diesel was 15.2 cents per liter more expensive than Spanish diesel, despite being 2.0 cents cheaper without taxes.
Also this Friday, in parliament, the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, guaranteed that the elimination of the discount on the Tax on Petroleum and Energy Products (ISP) in 2026 will be made “as gradual as possible”so as not to penalize the final price of fuel.
The governor recalled that the Reversal of the discount is an obligation of the European Commission, as it is a temporary measure created in 2022, when the price of oil exceeded 120 dollars per barrel. Today, it is around 60 dollars.
Miranda Sarmento admitted that the Government has been “a lot of pressure” by the European Commission to end ISP discounts.
If the discount is eliminated, fuel prices could rise by 10%. A full tank could be left.
According to the Public Finance Council (CFP), the elimination of the ISP discount and the update of the carbon tax could represent a additional revenue of 1,132 million euros for the State in 2026.
