Increasing agricultural fuel oil tax refunds
Act amending section 4 of the Act on Excise Duty Refunds on Certain Energy Products Used in Agriculture
Agricultural operators and aquaculture operators will receive a temporary additional refund of the energy tax on fuel oil in 2026 and 2027. The measure will alleviate the impact of rising fuel prices on agriculture.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 11 Jun 2026
- Latest event
- 25 Jun 2026
- Votes
- 2
- Speeches
- 27
- Confirmed
- 9 Jul 2026
- Statute
- 701/2026
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The refund of excise duty on light fuel oil and certain bio-fuel oils used in agriculture will be increased temporarily by 4 cents per litre, and the refund on heavy fuel oil by 4.49 cents per kilogram, based on consumption in 2025 and 2026.
What it means
The amendment concerns approximately 30,000 agricultural operators and aquaculture operators, and a total of around 20 million euros will be paid in additional refunds (around 10 million euros in 2026 and around 10 million euros in 2027). The average additional refund received by a farm is estimated at around 315 euros per year (median around 172 euros). For consumption in 2025, the additional refund will be paid during 2026 without a separate application, and for 2026, the support will be paid in connection with the regular refund in 2027.
How Parliament voted
2nd reading · 22 Jun 2026Parliament passed the act by 122–53.
The Centre voted with the government. 24 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. Point at a dot to see the MP. Seats follow the current seating plan (updated 18 Sep 2026). One MP who voted is not in the current seating plan.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 9 Jul 2026.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
27 speeches · 3 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate centred on the temporary additional energy tax refund on agricultural fuel oil. The proposal divided opinion, as the government parties and the Centre Party considered the support essential to alleviate the farmers' cost crisis, while the Greens and the Left Alliance opposed it for perpetuating fossil fuel dependency. The Centre Party supported the proposal but criticised its scale as insufficient.
- Does the fuel oil tax refund maintain harmful fossil fuel dependency?
- Is the proposed amount of support sufficient to address the agricultural cost crisis?
- National Coalition PartyIn favour
The National Coalition Party (NCP) considered the tax refund a necessary and proportionate crisis measure to support operating conditions in agriculture and security of supply following rising costs.
”Se tukee maatalouden toimintaedellytyksiä ja samalla vahvistaa Suomen huoltovarmuutta.”
— Juha Hänninen - Finns PartyIn favour
The Finns Party (Finns) supported the proposal as a quick and administratively light way to ease cost pressures on farms and ensure domestic food production.
”Tämä hallituksen esitys osaltaan helpottaa polttoaineiden hinnannousun aiheuttamia kustannuspaineita.”
— Ritva Elomaa - Swedish People's PartyIn favour
The Swedish People's Party (SPP) considered the increase in the tax refund justified and welcome assistance for farmers amid rising energy costs beyond their control.
”tämä kyseinen muutos on todella tervetullut ja aiheellinen huomioiden viljelijöiden tilanteen tällä hetkellä”
— Henrik Wickström - Centre PartyIn favour with reservations
The Centre Party (Cen) considered the proposal necessary and welcome, but criticised the amount of the tax refund as too small and called for more robust crisis measures alongside it.
”Tämä on hyvä laki, tämä on hyvä muutos, tämä on parannus, ja kannatan ja keskusta kannattaa tätä vahvasti, mutta mittakaava ei ole riittävä.”
— Hilkka Kemppi - GreensAgainst
The Greens opposed the proposal, arguing that fuel oil support increases fossil fuel dependency instead of supporting the transition to energy efficiency and renewable energy.
”Maataloutta on perusteltua tukea, mutta fossiilisten polttoaineiden käyttöön sidottu lisäpalautus ei ole kestävä tapa vastata alan kannattavuuskriisiin.”
— Krista Mikkonen - Left AllianceAgainst
The Left Alliance (Left) called for the rejection of the proposal, arguing that recurring tax refunds steer investments in the wrong direction and slow down the phase-out of fossil energy.
”Tämän vuoksi ehdotamme, että lakiehdotus hylätään ja että eduskunta edellyttää hallitukselta toimia, jotka tukevat maataloutta mutta samalla kannustavat irtautumaan fossiilienergiasta.”
— Hanna Sarkkinen
This digest was generated by AI from 27 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin valtiovarainvaliokuntaan.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 114/2026 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 11 Jun 2026Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Valtiovarainministeriö
- 11 Jun 2026Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 15 Jun 2026Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · valtiovarainvaliokunta
- 17 Jun 2026Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 23 Jun 2026Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 23 Jun 2026Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki maataloudessa käytettyjen eräiden energiatuotteiden valmisteveron palautuksesta annetun lain 4 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 701/2026 · 9 Jul 2026
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki maataloudessa käytettyjen eräiden energiatuotteiden valmisteveron palautuksesta annetun lain 4 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti lisätään maataloudessa käytettyjen eräiden energiatuotteiden valmisteveron palautuksesta annetun lain (603/2006) 4 §:ään, sellaisena kuin se on laeissa 247/2018, 1227/2018, 1217/2021 ja 370/2022, uusi 5 momentti seuraavasti:
4 §Veronpalautuksen määrä
Sen lisäksi, mitä 1 momentissa säädetään, hakijalle palautetaan valmisteveroa verovuoden 2025 ja 2026 aikana maataloudessa käytetystä kevyestä polttoöljystä 4 senttiä litralta, R-luokan biopolttoöljystä 4 senttiä litralta ja raskaasta polttoöljystä 4,49 senttiä kilogrammalta.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 25 Aug 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.