Diesel Stays at 10% VAT Until October 20: What the “Discount” Costs and What Happens on the 21st
The government extended the 10 instead of 18 percent VAT on diesel until October 20; the cost to the budget has not been published, and an illustrative calculation shows a difference of about 7 denars per liter.
Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska announced on October 9 that the government is extending the measure under which VAT on diesel is 10 instead of 18 percent, this time until October 20. “With this measure we influence retail fuel prices,” she wrote, adding that the state is “carefully monitoring conditions on international markets.” The stated aim is to ease pressure on households and the economy.
What the “discount” costs has not been published: neither the price of diesel per liter nor the cost to the budget. So what follows is only an illustrative calculation. If the net price is 90 denars per liter, 10 percent VAT gives 99 denars and 18 percent gives about 106 — a difference of about 7 denars. For every 10 million liters sold while the measure lasts, the state forgoes roughly 72 million denars, or about €1.2 million. How many liters will be sold in the additional eight days is not public data in the texts we found.
The decision comes while Brent trades around $100 a barrel. If the measure is not extended after October 20, VAT returns to 18 percent, and pump prices are expected to rise by about 7 percent, provided the pre-tax price stays the same. This is an extension of a measure that was due to expire on October 12, so the question of the next deadline will come up again — and with it, how long the state can afford the discount.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 10, 2026
