The price of oil goes to 1.79 euros, the Government has no option to remove either VAT or excise duty

Successive requests have been directed to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship for exemption from VAT and excise duties on fuels, in a situation where citizens are facing continuous price increases for this product. However, Minister Mimoza Kusari-Lila says that they do not see them as options. She said that they are looking at other measures.

The immediate exemption of at least 50 percent from VAT on fuels and the temporary abolition of excise duty are two of the 4 requests that the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo submitted to the Ministry of Trade on Monday.

Through them, AAK is aiming to reduce the price of oil by at least 40 cents per liter, in a situation where the price of one liter reached 1.79 on Monday. 

The head of the AAK Parliamentary Group, Besnik Tahiri, said that the price increase is directly affecting the entire economy, increasing the cost of transportation, production and supply.

"The lack of concrete institutional measures in this situation remains a concern for economic stability. Instead of facilitating policies, approaches are being observed that make it difficult for businesses to operate, while international practices show the need to reduce the fiscal burden, support critical sectors and create strategic reserves," said Tahiri.

However, it does not appear that these two requests will be implemented by the Kosovo Government.

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The Minister of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, has said that they do not see exemption from VAT and the abolition of excise duty as options.

"We are carefully reviewing the requests related to the withdrawal of excise duty or VAT, but not that we can say today that excise duty can be changed. First of all, excise duty is defined by law and consequently any change must be made by the Assembly and secondly, VAT and excise duty are budget revenues that in the current situation remain as they are, but we are looking at what are the possibilities to influence if there is further growth of course in the supply chain, so that there is no multiplication or chain of growth in other products," said Kusari-Lila.

As for the other two requests submitted by AAK, the creation of a task force and the creation of strategic oil reserves, it has said that they will review them and are open to discussing them.
Minister Kusari-Lila also said that there is no decrease in the stocks of companies and the situation remains the same, adding that there is still no need for restrictions, as the imported quantities have not changed significantly and the market, despite the increase in prices. "We have not reached the point of imposing restrictions. Something like this would be done if fiscal intervention in the price of oil were allowed or for those who are seeking it, in the case of excise duty and VAT; then a restriction could be imposed. So far, we have not seen it necessary to impose a restriction, because the imported quantities do not change much compared to before the conflict began. Despite the increase in price, the market has still tolerated it," she said.

Another request for exemption from VAT was sent to Kusar-Lila on Monday by the president of the Oilmen's Association, Fadil Berjani.

In addition to Kusari-Lila, he has also written to Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, emphasizing that this measure would directly impact the reduction of costs for citizens, in the face of rising prices.

"This measure would directly impact the reduction of costs for the final consumer, namely for the citizens of Kosovo, by providing immediate and tangible relief in the current conditions of increasing cost of living. Based on the latest data, on 21.3.2026, the citizen pays about 0.62 per liter to the state budget, while on 21.3.2026, this value was about 0.52. This shows that in addition to the increase in prices in international markets, an increase in the VAT burden of 0.10 euros per liter has also been recorded," said Berjani.

The Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce submitted a request for a reduction in excise duty and VAT on fuels a few days ago, saying that this would ease the burden on businesses and citizens. 

According to Customs data, the import price for a liter of diesel on Monday was 1.11 euros. When excise duty, VAT, and profit margin are added to this price, it goes up to 1.80 euros.

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While there is still no decision from the institutions in Kosovo, as a mitigating measure, Albania has decided to reduce excise duty by 20 percent, while North Macedonia has reduced VAT from 18 to 10 percent. 

The Croatian government has also intervened. According to a chart presented by the government of this country, the price of oil from today until another decision will be 1.73 euros, while gasoline will be 1.62 euros. According to the government, without the measures taken by it, oil in Croatia would cost 1.86 euros, while gasoline would cost 1.71 euros.