'Ad hoc decision'

Excise duty rebate at the pump partly reversed, petrol more than 5.5 cents more expensive

Published on 27-11-2025 at 17:30

tankstation benzineprijs — De benzineprijs schurkt al een tijdje tegen de €2 per liter aan. Per 1 januari komt er 5,5 eurocent accijns bovenop. Foto: Shutterstock

Fuel taxes will still go up slightly from 1 January. The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly agreed to a proposal by the Christian Union to use part of the money earmarked to give motorists a year longer discount on this tax to avoid cuts in public transport. Petrol will become more than 5.5 cents more expensive at the pump as a result.

For the extension of the excise duty rebate, which was instituted after the huge price hikes that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the outgoing cabinet had earmarked over EUR 1.7 billion in next year’s budget. That will leave a scant €1.3 billion after the Chamber’s adjustment. Partially reversing the excise rebate will free up €448 million for public transport. This money removes the cuts to ov for the next two years.

Mixed reactions

The Lower House’s support for higher fuel taxes leads to mixed reactions. OV-NL calls it “fantastic news”, trade union CNV finds it “very disappointing”. “The excise duty increase penalises millions of working people who depend on cars to get to work,” the union said. “Monthly working people are thus paying another 50 euros extra in travel costs.”

When asked, Bovag reports to Mobility Energy that the price increase will not have very much of an impact on entrepreneurs themselves, except perhaps at the border, where fuel tourism, among other things, is causing lower sales. Bovag is not happy about the measure in general, says spokesman Stijn Oosterhoff. “This is yet another example of ad hoc measure. Nice for public transport, unfortunate for motorists. What is especially lacking is a multi-year, steady plan for car tax reform and infrastructure investment.”

In the chamber, CU’s proposal was supported by D66, GL/PvdA, CDA, PvdD, DENK and Volt. The ruling parties VVD and BBB called the intervention “incomprehensible”. Both parties complain on X about a “left-wing parliamentary majority” ensuring higher prices at the pump. CDA leader Henri Bontenbal, however, points out that cuts by the outgoing cabinet are leading to impoverishment in regional public transport, and that this is “also a big problem”.

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This article was automatically translated from the Dutch language original to English (British).

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