In brief

  • When the excise duty on diesel falls, the money the farmer gets back falls by the same amount. The decision puts a figure on every situation: 2.397 lei per litre for diesel bought between 7 April and 30 June 2026, then a scale of five steps for the crisis period, from 2.557 lei per litre at an excise cut of 5% to 1.996 lei per litre at a cut of 25%.
  • The scheme’s budget for 2026 rises from 714.3 to 863.666 million lei. The top-up is 149.366 million, an increase of 20.9%, and the Ministry of Agriculture announced on the same day that it allows only partial payment of the claims for the second quarter.
  • What the farmer pays in the end does not change. Whatever the step, the excise duty left in his cost is 106.72 lei per 1,000 litres, the European minimum of 21 euro. All that changes is how much he advances at the pump and how much he later receives from the State.
Act: Government Decision no. 731/2026 amending and supplementing Government Decision no. 1.174/2014 establishing a State aid scheme for the reduction of the excise duty on diesel used in agriculture
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial), Part I, no. 796 of 18 September 2026
In force from: 18 September 2026, the date of publication. The act sets no deadline of its own, and under Article 12(3) of Law no. 24/2000 Government decisions enter into force on the date of publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, unless they provide for a later date

From 18 September 2026, farmers know how much they get back per litre of diesel in each of the situations the excise duty has been through this year. Government Decision no. 731/2026 adds a new paragraph to the 2014 aid scheme, one that ties the refund to how deeply the excise duty was cut: 2.397 lei per litre for diesel bought between 7 April and 30 June 2026, then five steps for the crisis period, from 2.557 lei per litre down to 1.996 lei per litre. The Government had already used the same mechanism for haulage companies, which receive 43 bani per litre instead of 85 for as long as the excise duty on diesel is cut by a quarter. The second change concerns the money: the value of the scheme for 2026 rises to 863,666.00 thousand lei.

The scheme works on a difference, and that explains why good news for every driver comes out as a smaller sum for the farmer. The standard excise duty on diesel is 2,804.29 lei per 1,000 litres in 2026. Agriculture is entitled to the lowest level European rules allow, 21 euro per 1,000 litres, or 106.72 lei at the exchange rate used this year to calculate excise duties. The farmer pays the full excise duty at the pump and the State later returns the difference between the two, which in normal conditions is 2.697 lei per litre. When the excise duty comes down, the difference narrows, because the part that stays in the farmer’s cost is the same.

The first situation in the new paragraph concerns the past. Through Government Emergency Ordinance no. 24/2026, published on 3 April 2026, the excise duty on standard diesel fell from 2,804.29 to 2,504.29 lei per 1,000 litres, exactly 30 bani per litre, for the period 7 April to 30 June. For that quarter the refund drops from 2.697 to 2.397 lei per litre, by the same 30 bani.

The second part concerns the crude oil market crisis declared by Law no. 162/2026, which runs from 7 August until 31 October 2026 and can be extended by Government decision for periods of no more than three months. There the level of the excise duty is not fixed: the Ministry of Finance sets it twice a month, between 5% and 25% below the level in force, according to international diesel quotations and the average price at the pump. The decision gives a sum for each step: 2.557 lei per litre at a cut of 5%, 2.417 lei at 10%, 2.277 lei at 15%, 2.137 lei at 20% and 1.996 lei at 25%.

The second article amended is the one about the money. The value of the scheme for 2026 appears twice in the 2014 decision, in Article 10, and in both places it moves to 863,666.00 thousand lei, that is 863.666 million. The money comes from the State budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The ministry stated that the top-up allows the payments for the second quarter to be made in part, and the interim minister of agriculture, Tánczos Barna, spoke of a need of at least one billion lei by the end of the year.

What it changes in practice

For a farmer who bought diesel in the spring, the effect is a figure he can work out himself. For every 1,000 litres used between 7 April and 30 June 2026 he receives 2,397 lei instead of 2,697. On a farm that uses 50,000 litres in a quarter, the difference comes to 15,000 lei.

The loss is only apparent, and that deserves saying plainly. Over the same period diesel was cheaper at the pump by roughly the same 30 bani per litre, because the excise cut is what made it cheaper. The farmer advanced less and gets less back. The real difference is one of timing: at the pump the saving was immediate, while the refund arrives months later in any case.

For the crisis period the practical effect is more awkward. The sum per litre depends on the step in force on the day of refuelling, and the step changes twice a month. Between the two extremes there are 56 bani per litre, 28% of the value of the lowest one. A farmer who refuels several times in a quarter can end up with three or four different amounts in the same file, and the receipt from the station does not show which excise cut was in force at the time.

The first application of these steps came out lower than any of them: for the second quarter the order pays 1.363 lei per litre, against the 2.397 lei set by the decision.

For the scheme’s budget, the extra 149.366 million lei covers around 62.3 million litres at 2.397 lei per litre. At the previous amount of 2.697 lei, the same money would have been enough for 55.4 million litres. Lowering the amount therefore stretches the top-up over some 6.9 million litres more, which explains why the two changes come in the same act.

For the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture, which pays quarterly, a new check appears: for every claim it has to establish which level of excise duty was in force on the date of each tax document filed. Nowhere does the decision say who makes that match, or on the basis of which document, and the silence will be felt at the counter.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

Until 18 September 2026 the scheme had a single figure for the whole year: 2.697 lei per litre, the difference between the standard excise duty of 2,804.29 lei per 1,000 litres and the reduced rate of 106.72 lei. The figure was written in Article 2(38) and took no account of the April excise cut or of the crisis mechanism that started on 7 August.

The new paragraph (39) does not replace the old rule; it sets it aside in the situations it lists. Outside them, in the months with no excise cut, 2.697 lei per litre still applies. A single annual value has thus become a scale with seven positions: 2.697 lei in normal periods, 2.397 lei for the spring quarter and five steps between 2.557 and 1.996 lei for the crisis.

On the money, the year has three stages. In March 2026 the Government set the scheme at 620 million lei. In May it put a top-up of 94.3 million out for consultation, which took the value to 714.3 million. Now 149.366 million is added and the total reaches 863.666 million, 39% more than at the start of the year. Even so, the ministry says the money covers only part of a single quarter.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • Every situation has a ready-made sum in the act. The farmer and the official read the same figure, with no percentages to multiply.
  • The State no longer pays back more than it collected. Without the new paragraph, a cut of 25% would have meant a refund of 2.697 lei per litre out of an excise duty of 2.103 lei.
  • All five steps the Ministry of Finance can set now have a sum of their own, from 5% to 25%. None is left without an amount.
  • The money rises in the same act that cuts the amount per litre. The top-up of 149.366 million lei applies from the same date as the new sums.
  • The part that stays in the farmer’s cost is untouched. It stands at 106.72 lei per 1,000 litres, the European minimum, in all seven situations.
  • The figures hold up when checked. Every level of excise duty quoted is found in the act the decision refers to, and the five steps come out exactly from the percentages of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25.

What remains a problem

  • The rule for the spring arrives 80 days after the quarter ended and 49 days after 31 July, the deadline for filing payment claims for that quarter.
  • Nothing links the invoice to the step. There is no indication of how to prove which excise cut was in force on the date of each refuelling, although the sum depends on it.
  • Five steps are listed, but the law speaks of a reduction set gradually, between 5% and 25%. For a value outside the five, the general rule of 2.697 lei per litre applies again, so the refund is larger than the excise duty contained in the price.
  • The period under letter a) is written without a year, in a decision that has been running since 2014 and will still be running in 2027.
  • Everyone knows in advance that the money is not enough. On the very day its budget is topped up, the ministry announces only partial payment of the second quarter.
  • The sum per litre becomes a moving target. With two adjustments a month and 56 bani between the extremes, a farmer cannot estimate what a quarter brings in until after it has ended.

Practical advice

  1. For every refuelling during the crisis period, write down the level of excise reduction the Ministry of Finance had published for those two weeks. The refund amount is set by the date of refuelling, not by the date you file the claim.
  2. For the April to June 2026 quarter, recalculate your expectations at 2.397 lei per litre, not at 2.697. On 50,000 litres the difference is 15,000 lei.
  3. Do not read the smaller refund as a loss. Diesel was cheaper at the pump by roughly the same amount, so the right benchmark is the fuel invoice, not the refund from the years without a crisis.
  4. The filing deadline does not move because the sums were set later. The payment claim is filed by the end of the month following the quarter you are claiming for, under Article 8 of the 2014 decision.
  5. Check the quantity ceiling in your prior approval. The refund is granted within the annual quantities set out in the annex to the decision, and if the claims exceed those quantities, payments are cut proportionally for all applicants.
  6. Plan for a late payment. The ministry has said publicly that the topped-up budget covers only part of the second quarter, the rest depending on a budget revision.
  7. If you work with an accountant or a consultant, give them the list of all seven values, not just the figure they knew from previous years. A file calculated throughout at 2.697 lei per litre will be corrected at payment.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I get back per litre of diesel?
It depends on when you bought it. In periods with no excise cut, 2.697 lei per litre. For diesel bought between 7 April and 30 June 2026, 2.397 lei per litre. During the crisis period, between 2.557 lei and 1.996 lei per litre, according to the reduction step in force on the date of refuelling.
Why does the sum fall if the excise duty has fallen?
Because the aid is the difference itself, between the excise duty everyone pays and the minimum level agriculture is entitled to, 106.72 lei per 1,000 litres. When the excise duty comes down, the difference shrinks. The minimum level stays untouched.
Have I lost money compared with last year?
Not necessarily. What you no longer get as a refund you also no longer paid at the pump, because the excise cut made the fuel cheaper by roughly the same amount. What changes is the moment the money stays with you, and the total comes out close.
How much do I get for diesel bought in July or early August 2026?
The general rule, 2.697 lei per litre. The reduction in Government Emergency Ordinance no. 24/2026 stopped on 30 June and the crisis declared by Law no. 162/2026 began on 7 August, so between those two dates the excise duty stood at the standard level of 2,804.29 lei per 1,000 litres.
Who sets the reduction step, and how often?
The Ministry of Finance, twice a month, for each two-week segment, on the basis of international diesel quotations and the average price at the pump. The reduction falls between 5% and 25% of the excise duty in force.
When does the decision enter into force?
On 18 September 2026, the day of publication in the Official Gazette of Romania. The act provides for no later date, and Government decisions enter into force on the date of publication when they do not set another deadline themselves.
Do the 863.666 million lei cover all the claims for 2026?
No. The Ministry of Agriculture announced that the sum allows only partial payment of the claims for the second quarter, and the interim minister estimated a need of at least one billion lei for agricultural support by the end of the year.
Do I have to redo claims already filed?
The decision changes neither the forms nor the deadlines, only the sum per litre, and it lays down no procedure for redoing claims already filed. If you calculated a file at the old amount, the value is corrected when it is checked.
What happens if the crisis is extended beyond 31 October 2026?
Law no. 162/2026 allows an extension by Government decision, for periods of no more than three months. For as long as the crisis lasts, the steps in the new paragraph apply. The sums are calculated on the excise duty and the exchange rate of 2026, however, so an extension into 2027 would call for new figures.

Editorial analysis

The act has nothing in it to correct, though it is not quite what it looks like. Read from end to end, it reads as a technical adjustment of amounts. Subtract one figure from another and a hole appears that the act is there to close. Without the new paragraph, a farmer who bought diesel between 7 April and 30 June 2026 would have had 2.697 lei per litre back, while the excise duty contained in the price was 2.504 lei per litre: 19.27 bani more than anyone had ever paid. At the 25% step in the crisis period the gap widens to 59.38 bani per litre, because the excise duty drops to 2.103 lei while the old rule would still have refunded 2.697. For every 100 million litres, the 25% step alone would have meant around 59 million lei paid without cover.

The calendar tells the second half of the story. The rule for the April to June quarter is published on 18 September, 80 days after the period ended and 49 days after 31 July, the date by which Article 8 of the 2014 decision requires payment claims for that quarter to be filed. The farmer had to meet a deadline for a period whose amount was set almost two months later, while the administration set itself no deadline at all. That asymmetry is the most concrete thing in the act, more than the percentages.

The arithmetic, checked figure by figure, comes out clean almost everywhere. The standard excise duty of 2,804.29 lei per 1,000 litres, reduced by 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 percent, gives exactly the levels written into the act, and each of them, minus the reduced rate of 106.72 lei, gives the published amount, correctly rounded to the third decimal. The one exception is letter a): 2,504.29 minus 106.72 makes 2,397.57 lei per 1,000 litres, which rounds to 2.398 lei per litre, not 2.397. The act truncates, exactly as the rule it derogates from truncated 2,697.57 into 2.697. The Government preferred to match the existing text rather than round correctly, at a cost of 57 bani per 1,000 litres, that is 57,000 lei for every 100 million litres refunded.

Set next to the money, the act reads differently again. The budget rises by 20.9% against 714.3 million and by 39% against the 620 million set in March, while the amount per litre falls at the same time. The 149.366 million lei added cover 62.3 million litres at 2.397 lei, against 55.4 million at the old amount, so the same sum stretches over 6.9 million litres more. Even so, the ministry announces on the same day that a single quarter will be paid only in part. The act ends up looking more like rationing worked with two levers at once than like additional support.

What should be changed

  • The year should be written into the text. The wording „în perioada 7 aprilie-30 iunie 2026 inclusiv” (during the period 7 April to 30 June 2026 inclusive) would settle the question in a decision that has applied for more than ten years and will still be read in 2027.
  • A formula instead of the list of steps. A text saying that what is refunded is the difference between the level of excise duty in force on the date of the tax document and the reduced rate under paragraph (26) covers any percentage the Ministry of Finance might set, including a value outside the five steps, and no longer calls for a new decision at every change of mechanism.
  • The act should name the source of the step. If the sum depends on the level of reduction on the day of refuelling, the decision ought to say where that level is read officially and how it is attached to the file, otherwise the proof will be built differently at every county centre.
  • The amounts should be adopted before the filing deadline. A rule that arrives 49 days after the deadline turns the payment claim into a provisional declaration and moves the correction onto the shoulders of the official who checks the file.
  • The act should say what happens to claims already filed. A single sentence about recalculating the second-quarter files automatically would spare thousands of farmers the question of whether they have to file something again.
  • Rounding should be done once, to the third decimal. The five steps are rounded correctly, letter a) is truncated, and the difference, small per litre, adds up over the hundreds of millions of litres refunded each year.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 796 of 18 September 2026 8 pages PDF, 73 KB the act starts on page 3

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.