The Italian Government has assured that it is “working to mitigate the consequences of the conflict as much as possible” in Iran and the Middle East. The declared objective is to protect citizens and the country from economic and social repercussions. In a video released by Palazzo Chigi, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explained that task forces have been activated to monitor the trend in energy, petrol and food prices. A series of targeted interventions are also planned to combat speculation. Mobile excise duties are also being considered. The Government monitors the cost of fuel. The aim is to prevent international tensions from translating into generalized increases in costs for families and businesses, keeping markets and supply chains under observation in order to intervene in good time with containment measures. The Prime Minister announced that, in particular on the fuel front, the activation of the so-called “mobile excise duties” is being evaluated, a tool made more effective by the 2023 fuel provision and also foreseen in the centre-right government programme. Mobile excise duties under study This mechanism allows the greater VAT component deriving from the increase in prices to be used to compensate and reduce excise duties, effectively sterilizing part of the inflationary effect on consumers. In this sense, Meloni specified that the activation is being studied by the Ministry of Economy and that the measure has also been requested by some opposition parties, suggesting a possible rapid use of the instrument should prices show a stable increase.
