The price of oil approaches 2 euros, the state of Kosovo benefits over half a billion euros
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Express Newspaper
25/09/2026 16:28
A liter of diesel costs about 1.94 euros in Kosovo. A part of the price paid by the consumer ends up directly in the state budget, he writes Radio Free Europe.
Last year alone, excise duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) on derivatives brought the budget over half a billion euros: about 360 million euros from excise duty and 157 million from VAT.
Now, when the prices at the pumps have increased again, representatives of the oil industry and businesses demand that the Government temporarily give up a part of these revenues, in order to ease the consumer’s bill.
But not everyone is convinced that tax cuts would automatically mean lower prices at the pump.
How much does the state get from a liter?
An excise tax of 0.36 euros is paid for each liter of imported diesel.
VAT of 18 percent is also applied on the taxable base.
Excise duty on imported derivatives is administered by Kosovo Customs and is paid into the state budget, while VAT is a consumption tax that is ultimately transferred to the consumer through the price of the product.
Zekir Istogu, chairman of the Association of Oil Workers of Kosovo, says that, on September 22, Kosovar companies bought a liter of oil brought to the ports of Durrës or Thessaloniki for about 1.12 euros.
An excise tax of 36 cents per liter is paid on this price, while VAT of 18 percent is also applied on the created amount.
According to a calculation by Radio Free Europe, based on these data, excise duty and VAT together amount to about 63 cents per liter.
The final price includes transport and other company expenses.
On September 24, a liter of diesel in the Kosovo market was sold for up to 1.94 euros, while a liter of gasoline for up to 1.67 euros.
How much did derivatives bring to the budget?
Kosovo Customs figures show that derivatives are an important source of public revenue.
From the beginning of 2022 until September 22, 2026, Kosovo imported oil worth more than 2.6 billion euros.
During this period, over 1.3 billion euros were collected from the excise duty on oil alone, in addition to hundreds of millions of euros from VAT.
Gasoline also provides additional income.
From 2022 to September of this year, Kosovo imported gasoline worth about 275 million euros.
With the increase in prices, precisely these taxes have been put in the center of requests for the Government’s intervention.
Kosovo depends on imports for the supply of derivatives and, consequently, the movements in the international markets are also transmitted in the local market.
Istogu says that Kosovar companies have little room to amortize large increases in supply prices.
“The institutions – if they apply something – the only thing they can change is the temporary removal of excise duty or the reduction of VAT. Any of them directly affects the pocket of consumers”, he says to Radio Free Europe.
International prices have risen amid conflict in the Middle East and disruptions in oil supplies.
On September 24, Brent crude oil – one of the main international benchmarks for the price of oil – was trading above $105 per barrel.
Kosovo is supplied with derivatives from various countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Kuwait, India, Greece and Italy.
A part of imports arrives through the region’s ports, including Porto Romano in Durrës, while derivatives are also purchased through companies and distributors in Albania and North Macedonia.
The price of fuel does not remain only at the pumps
Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kosovo (DHTIK) requests the Government’s intervention, since, according to it, the increase in fuel prices does not only affect drivers.
It increases costs for businesses and can then be reflected in the prices of products and services.
“The increase in the prices of oil derivatives has had a great impact on the continuous increase in consumer prices, construction costs and production prices”, says Kushtrim Ahmeti, executive director of DHTIK, for Radio Free Europe.
According to him, one of the reasons for the lack of an intervention could be the weight that VAT and excise have on budget revenues.
He shows that, in recent months, there is a decrease in the import of oil, but there is an increase in revenues from VAT.
This is also confirmed by the data of the Kosovo Customs.
DHTIK says that it has officially sent the requests for relief measures to the Government, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation.
These institutions did not respond to Radio Free Europe’s questions about whether they are considering requests to reduce excise duty or VAT.
But would the price at the pump also decrease?
Jakup Gashi, an expert on economic issues, does not support the removal of excise duty or the reduction of VAT as a solution to high prices.
According to him, the reduction of taxes does not guarantee that companies will pass on all that reduction to the consumer through a cheaper price.
He proposes another mechanism: returning part of the VAT directly to the citizens.
“The VAT can be returned to the citizens through fiscal coupons. The fiscal coupons should be collected, sent to the relevant institutions and the consumers themselves reimbursed”, says Gashi for Radio Free Europe.
He also raises doubts about the way prices are formed by derivatives companies and compares the current situation with that of 2022, after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
On March 8, 2022, a liter of diesel in Kosovo was sold for about 1.68 euros, while gasoline for about 1.58 euros.
In that period, crude oil on international markets was around $130 per barrel.
On September 24, 2026, Brent traded around 105 dollars per barrel, while oil in Kosovo up to around 1.94 euros per liter.
“Now the prices in the international stock exchanges are lower, while the prices of derivatives in the market are higher. Here there are suspicions of manipulations by importers”, says Gashi.
Comparing the price of crude oil in international markets to what the consumer pays at the pump, however, does not in itself prove manipulation.
Transport, exchange rate, taxes and other costs along the supply chain also affect the final price.
The Competition Authority of Kosovo says that it is constantly monitoring the derivatives market and that it has noticed a significant increase in import prices, which is also reflected in retail prices.
“However, until this stage of monitoring, the Authority has not identified elements that would create reasonable doubts about the existence of prohibited agreements between companies or for price coordination”, says the Authority’s response to Radio Free Europe.
The government intervened, then withdrew
The government has intervened earlier in the derivatives market.
The law on trade in petroleum products establishes as a rule that prices are determined by the free market, but allows interventions for the protection of consumers and competition, or in case of market disturbances.
In early March, following the rise in prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, MINTI imposed trade margin restrictions.
The maximum margin allowed was up to 2 cents per liter at wholesale and up to 12 cents at retail.
On September 4, the Ministry stopped setting maximum prices and the market returned to free price formation.
Since then, the maximum price of diesel has increased from around 1.72 euros per liter on September 3 to around 1.94 euros in the second half of the month.
