RDL 18/2026 winds down the Middle East crisis measures: fuel, VAT and the IVPEE

Real Decreto-ley 18/2026, de 29 de junio (Royal Decree-Law 18/2026 of 29 June), published in the BOE on 30 June 2026 under identifier BOE-A-2026-14112, extends on a declining basis the measures of the Plan Integral de Respuesta a la Crisis en Oriente Medio (Comprehensive Response Plan to the Middle East Crisis) approved by Real Decreto-ley 7/2026, de 20 de marzo. The norm entered into force on 1 July 2026, the day after its publication, under its fifth final provision. Against readings that place the entire norm in 2027, only two provisions defer their effects to that date: the new wording of article 8 of Ley 15/2012 and the repeal of chapter V of title I of Real Decreto-ley 6/2022.

What changes

Chapter II concentrates the tax measures. Articles 5, 6 and 7 set the rates of the Impuesto sobre Hidrocarburos (hydrocarbon tax) for July, August and September 2026: the cut for diesel and unleaded gasoline is 15 euro cents per liter in July, 10 cents in August and 5 cents in September. If the consumer price index (CPI) for gasoline or diesel in June 2026 exceeds that of the same month of the previous year by more than 15%, the cut will be 20 cents in August and 15 in September; if it is the July CPI that exceeds it, the September cut will be 20 cents.

While those reduced rates apply, article 8 sets the refund for professional-use diesel under article 52 bis.6 of Ley 38/1992 at zero euros between 1 July and 30 September 2026, and article 9 sets the refund for agricultural diesel under article 52 ter b) at 6.93 euros per 1,000 liters in July, 25.86 in August and 44.78 in September. Neither of the two articles of Ley 38/1992 is amended: the norm takes them as a reference.

In indirect taxation, articles 10 and 11 make the 10% VAT rate for electricity, natural gas, briquettes, pellets and firewood in August and September 2026 conditional on the year-on-year CPI of the relevant subclass in June or July exceeding 15%. For electricity, the reduced rate would reach contracts with contracted power of up to 10 kW and recipients of the social tariff (bono social) classified as severely vulnerable. Articles 12 and 13 apply the same condition to the 0.5% rate of the Impuesto Especial sobre la Electricidad (special tax on electricity), with minimum amounts of 0.5 euros per MWh for industrial uses and 1 euro per MWh for all other uses.

On the IVPEE (tax on the value of electricity production), article 14 governs the taxable base and the installment payments for 2026 with a reduction of the remuneration taken into account (10% in the first quarter, all of it in the second, 30% in the third and 40% in the fourth), and article 15, with effect from 1 January 2027, gives a new wording to article 8 of Ley 15/2012: a 3.5% rate during 2027 and 0% from 2028.

The direct-aid block keeps the aid for professional diesel in road transport at 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 euros per liter in July, August and September 2026 (art. 22), extends an analogous aid to carriers without access to the professional diesel refund (art. 25), lengthens the diesel aid for agricultural producers until 30 September 2026 (art. 16) and provides for aid to railway undertakings (art. 28) and to regular-line maritime transport (art. 30). Article 31 prohibits beneficiary companies from dismissing on grounds of force majeure or on economic, technical, organizational or production grounds arising from the situation until 30 September 2026, on pain of repayment of the aid and nullity of the dismissal.

In the electricity sector, article 2 amends Ley 24/2013 and adds a twenty-fourth additional provision on spinning reserve via batteries in the non-peninsular territories. The single repealing provision repeals, with effect from 1 January 2027, chapter V of title I of RDL 6/2022; repeals article 53.8 of Ley 24/2013; and repeals article 13.6 of RDL 7/2026 with no deferred date, so that provision lapses from 1 July 2026.

Context

RDL 7/2026, de 20 de marzo, approved the initial package against the Middle East crisis, with cuts to VAT and to the special tax on electricity in force until 30 June 2026 and conditional on the evolution of the CPI, a condition that had already deprived the June cut of effect. With wholesale electricity prices moderate, RDL 18/2026 organizes a staggered exit: the fuel cuts shrink month by month until September and ordinary energy taxation is restored in phases, with the IVPEE at 3.5% in 2027 and 0% from 2028.

Who is affected and how

• Road carriers: the holders of the vehicles of article 52 bis.2 of Ley 38/1992 receive the aid of 10, 15 and 20 cents per liter and, at the same time, see the professional diesel refund suspended between July and September 2026. Beneficiary companies are subject to the dismissal prohibition of article 31 until 30 September 2026.
• Farmers and livestock breeders: the agricultural diesel refund is graded by month (6.93, 25.86 and 44.78 euros per 1,000 liters) and the aid of article 46 of RDL 7/2026 is extended until 30 September 2026.
• Electricity producers: they pay the 2026 IVPEE with a reduced base and reduced installment payments and must build the 3.5% rate for 2027 and the 0% rate from 2028 into their forecasts.
• Consumers and suppliers: the possible return of 10% VAT and of the 0.5% special tax on electricity in August and September 2026 depends on the CPI data published by the INE; it is not automatic.

What to do and when

• July to September 2026: apply the reduced hydrocarbon tax rates of articles 5 to 7 and, in professional transport, process the aid through the same procedure as the refund of article 52 bis of Ley 38/1992.
• After each publication of the June and July 2026 CPI: check whether the 10% VAT rate, the 0.5% special tax on electricity and the scaling of the fuel cut are triggered.
• Until 30 September 2026: companies receiving direct aid must refrain from the dismissals barred by article 31 so as not to lose the aid.
• Before 1 January 2027: IVPEE taxpayers must prepare the assessment with the 3.5% rate and note that chapter V of title I of RDL 6/2022 also lapses on that date.

To carry this tax calendar into your specific case, we recommend assessing your situation with BMC's tax practice.