A cut in excise duty on heating oil is expected to take effect on 23 October, nine days earlier than planned. On Monday, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos agreed to a request from the chairwoman of parliament’s Finance Committee to bring the measure forward. The duty will fall from 7.4 cents to 2.1 cents a litre, at a time when the average price of heating oil has risen by 77.66 per cent since February.
Under the government’s original plan, the cut would have applied from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027. Keravnos agreed at the start of the committee’s debate on the state budget. Committee chairwoman Christiana Erotokritou had asked for the measure to be applied immediately so that households, especially in mountain areas, would get relief as soon as possible.
According to the bill, the measure is expected to reduce the duty to the minimum level allowed under EU law, a cut of 5.373 cents a litre before VAT and 6.39 cents including VAT. The cost to the state is estimated at 5.2 million euros.
After Monday’s committee session, the bill was expected to go to the House plenum for approval on Thursday so that it could take effect the following day. However, the plenum is not meeting this week. All indications are that the bill will now be put to a vote on Thursday, 22 October, and the measure will apply from the next day, 23 October.
Prices
The average price of heating oil across Cyprus was 1.679 euros a litre on Tuesday. That is 77.66 per cent, or 73 cents a litre, higher than last February, when it stood at 94 cents a litre with no government support measures in place. Buying 1,000 litres of heating oil cost 940 euros in February, compared with 1,670 euros now, an increase of 730 euros.
Dozens of people have already started buying heating oil to cover several weeks of their winter needs, fearing further price rises. Some believe that, with the way prices are moving, a new price increase will cancel out the cut.
Push in Brussels
Cypriot authorities are pressing in Brussels for a further cut in the duty on heating oil and for VAT to be removed from Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) bills. President Nikos Christodoulides said he would raise both issues at the European Council.
At the last ECOFIN meeting, Keravnos backed a request from the prime ministers of Greece and Italy for more funding to upgrade energy networks so they can absorb energy from green sources.
More measures under consideration
Arriving at a Forbes conference on Tuesday, Christodoulides said the government was considering many other measures beyond those already announced, some of which need Brussels’ approval. He said government support measures exceed 1 billion euros and fall into three categories. The first category is measures with immediate effect, such as VAT cuts on a range of products. The second is measures that raise disposable income, including tax reform, the cost-of-living allowance (ATA), the increase in the minimum wage and pension reform. The third pillar covers institutional measures relating to Vasilikos and natural gas.
Parties call for more support
Parties called for further measures to help households cope with energy costs at Tuesday’s session of parliament’s Energy Committee.
Committee chairman and DISY parliament member Nikos Georgiou said the middle class was shrinking and that low-income households’ wallets were empty before the end of the month. He spoke of people being financially suffocated and accused the government of following events rather than leading.
AKEL parliament member Konstantinos Konstantinou said the government’s measures were inadequate and had no impact. ELAM parliament member Evgenios Hamboullas argued that the rise in VAT on property to 19 per cent had fuelled inflation. DIKO parliament member Chrysis Pantelides said the government should consider cutting taxes, and stressed the need to support large families, families with three children and single parents. ALMA parliament member Irene Charalambides said golden passports and the reduced tax rate for foreign workers had sent rents and property prices soaring.
Market checks
Andreas Zachariades, Director General of the Finance Ministry, told the committee that checks were being carried out on the market. However, he said it was not easy to confirm whether support measures were reaching consumers in full.
An officer from the Consumer Protection Service said thousands of inspections were being carried out, with more than 25,000 in 2025 and more than 12,000 up to August 2026. Consumers could save up to 25 to 35 per cent by shopping carefully between supermarkets, the officer said.
Central Bank representative Maria Papageorgiou said any measures should be targeted at vulnerable groups so as not to create new inflationary pressures.
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