Government prepares a new budget rebalance: 130 million euros less in revenue because of fuels

The Government of North Macedonia will prepare a new rebalance of the state budget within this month, only three months after the last rebalance, as 24 Vesti reports. The cause is reduced revenue: the cut in excise duty and VAT on fuels has left a gap of 130 million euros in the state coffers.

According to 24 Vesti, with the new rebalance both budget revenues and expenditures will be cut. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski estimates the cost the state pays for the measures keeping fuel prices lower at over 100 million euros. The Government keeps as a priority preserving citizens’ living standards and keeping the lowest fuel prices in the region.

The opposition reacts harshly. The leader of SDSM, Venko Filipçe, tells 360° that the rebalance is a consequence of the mismanagement of the economy and not of the cut in excise duties and VAT on fuels. According to him, despite the tax cut, the total price of fuels in the past period has risen by over 50 per cent, so VAT and excise revenues should not have decreased, but should have remained unchanged.

The last budget rebalance was approved on 6 July 2026, under conditions of uncertainty from the conflict in the Middle East and unstable energy prices. Now the Government is forced to review the budget again, as the fuel measures have cost the state coffers much more than had been foreseen.