Deputies have abolished the excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas

Deputies adopted at first and immediately afterwards at second reading amendments to the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act, which introduce a zero excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas, BGNES reports. The relief comes into effect on October 1, 2026 and will apply until December 31 of the same year, with the aim of protecting consumers and businesses from the price shock on international markets.

Quick adoption by parliament

The bill, submitted just days ago by deputies from the parliamentary group of “Progressive Bulgaria“ Stefan Belchev, Konstantin Prodanov and Svetla Kodzhabasheva, received the support of 158 members of parliament at first reading. There were no objections, and ten deputies from GERB-SDF and “We continue the change“ abstained.

At the proposal of Svetla Kodzhabasheva, the texts were considered and finally voted on in the same plenary session. With this decision, by the end of the year the excise rate for liquefied petroleum gas becomes 0 euros per 1000 kilograms, and for natural gas - 0 euros per 1 gigajoule.

Geopolitics and price shock

The petitioners motivate the measure with the geopolitical events in the Middle East, which disrupt supply chains and lead to a permanent increase in fuel prices. According to them, this poses a serious risk to economic stability and directly affects vulnerable households and small businesses.

The European Energy Taxation Directive allows member states to apply such flexible measures in times of crisis. The abolition of the excise duty should provide quick relief by directly lowering prices for end users at gas stations. The measure is strictly limited to three months, as the permanent abolition of the tax would encourage the consumption of fossil fuels in conflict with climate goals.

Economic effect and a hole in the budget

The temporary zero taxation will directly reduce the transport costs of citizens and companies that use gas-powered vehicles. According to expectations, this can also limit the increase in the price of other goods and services, the cost of which depends heavily on logistics.

The implementation of the measure will be controlled by the “Customs“ Agency. The state budget will lose 20 million euros in excise revenue from the tax holiday by the end of the year.