03.03.2026 13:32
Following the rise in oil prices, the expected increase of 6 lira and 69 kuruş in diesel fuel in Turkey has prompted action in Ankara. It is claimed that the Ministry of Treasury and Finance is preparing to reactivate the "Eşel Mobil" system, which foresees waiving the special consumption tax (ÖTV) to limit the direct reflection of this increase on pump prices. Minister Mehmet Şimşek also provided a message supporting this insider information.
The Turkish government has taken action due to the potential effects of the war, which started along the line of the USA, Israel, and Iran and turned into a global supply crisis after the energy facilities of Saudi Arabia and Qatar were hit.
An alarm was raised in the capital ahead of the "historic war increase" expected to reflect on the pump tomorrow night (midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday), with diesel expected to reach 6 lira 69 kuruş and gasoline to exceed 2 lira.
"TREASURY IS CALCULATING THE BUDGET"
Bloomberg, one of the world's leading finance and news organizations, announced the "fuel shield" plan being conducted behind closed doors in Ankara to the public. According to the claim, officials from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance are working to reintroduce the "Eşel Mobil (Gradual/Mobile Tax)" system implemented in previous years to limit the impact of rising oil prices on consumers.
It is expected that the decision of ministry officials, who are calculating the billions of lira tax loss that the reimplementation of the system will create in the budget, meaning the decrease in Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) revenue, will be clarified by the end of this week.
MINISTER ŞIMŞEK'S INFLATION MESSAGE
The statement supporting Bloomberg's backstage news came from the Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek. In his post, Şimşek indicated preparations without naming names, stating, "We are working to limit the inflationary effect of rising oil prices caused by geopolitical developments."
WHAT IS THE EŞEL MOBIL SYSTEM? HOW WILL IT WORK?
In Turkey, fuel pump prices are calculated by adding the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV), Value Added Tax (KDV), and distributor profit margin to the refinery exit price. The increase in Brent oil prices due to the war causes this increase to be directly reflected as a price hike at the pump.
The Eşel Mobil System, which was implemented for the first time after the currency crisis in 2018 and ended in 2022, aims to limit the reflection of this increase on citizens. If the system is activated, the price increase originating from international markets will not be directly reflected in the pump price. The amount of the increase will be covered by deducting it from the ÖTV collected by the state.
For example, the entire or part of the 6 lira 69 kuruş increase in diesel will be compensated by waiving ÖTV. Thus, the pump price will be kept stable or a more limited increase will be applied. The state aims to reduce the impact of the price increase by sacrificing tax revenue through this method.