Haulage and bus companies can recoup up to 70% of extra fuel costs for October to December. Fare rises will be deducted
Road haulage companies carrying goods for hire and bus operators carrying passengers can claim back from the state up to 70% of the extra they spent on fuel between 1 October and 31 December 2026. This is set out in Decree-Law 213/2026, published in the Diário da República on 5 November (Diário da República). It comes into force on 6 November.
The extra cost is calculated by taking the average fuel price over these three months and subtracting the average price from 1 January to 1 March 2026, before prices rose because of the war in the Middle East, using figures from the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG). The difference is then multiplied by the fuel consumption backed by receipts and invoices.
Anything the operator has already recovered over the same months is deducted from this amount: fuel surcharges, fare rises and extra payments from transport authorities. For passengers and customers, this means that if an operator has raised its prices, its support will be cut by the same amount.
This comes on top of the October support under Decree-Law 199/2026, a fixed sum per vehicle that taxis, social care organisations and volunteer fire brigades also receive. The new support can be claimed on its own or together with the October support, but the two combined cannot exceed 70% of the extra costs. Taxis, social care organisations, fire brigades, companies that carry their own goods, and transport in farming and fishing are not eligible for the new support.
Applications can be made after 31 December on the website of the Institute for Mobility and Transport (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes), which will set the deadline. Contracts, fare records and invoices from 1 January 2026 onwards must be kept for 10 years.
