Fuel Prices to Drop by 50 Agorot Per Liter Next Week

The price of gasoline in Israel is expected to decrease by 50 agorot per liter, following the Ministry of Finance's publication of an order to reduce excise tax on gasoline for one month. The order has been released for public comment, with the deadline for submissions set for this coming Sunday. After reviewing the comments, the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, is expected to sign the order, contingent on the outcome of the public comment period.

Once signed by the Minister of Finance, the order will take effect, and the price of gasoline at stations will be updated at midnight between Sunday and Monday. This reduction is anticipated to bring the price of gasoline down to 7.77 shekels per liter, from the current price of 8.27 shekels per liter. The excise tax on a liter of gasoline will be reduced to 2.73 shekels under the new order.

This price cut follows a recent 6.7% increase in fuel prices, which brought the cost to a high of 8.27 shekels per liter. This is the second consecutive reduction in excise tax, after Smotrich ordered a similar cut in early September. According to the Ministry of Finance, these excise tax reductions result in an accumulated revenue loss of approximately 500 million shekels.

The current excise tax reduction is slated to remain in effect until the end of October. The Ministry of Finance published the order after the Attorney General's office approved the Ministry's legal counsel's opinion, which permitted the move despite it occurring during an election period and being the second consecutive reduction. The implementation of the price decrease is currently dependent on the completion of the public comment process and the Minister of Finance's signature.