Debate in Lebanon over the 300,000-lira fee on a gasoline canister

⏱️ Timeline

1. 29 Sep 2026, 09:22 Energy Minister Joe Saddi wrote that he will request the cancellation of the 300,000-lira fee on a gasoline canister, arguing that citizens can no longer bear it, at a time when this fee was approved as one of the funding sources for the increase in the salaries of public sector employees and the military. The report also noted that the stations' commission rose by 66,000 liras per canister, and that Lebanon imported about 148 million gasoline canisters in a year according to customs data.
2. 29 Sep 2026, 15:12 The 300,000-lira fee on a gasoline canister returned to the forefront, between easing citizens' burdens and securing funding for the increases in the salaries of the public sector and the military, with confirmation that Energy Minister Joe Saddi announced his intention to request the cancellation of the fee, considering that citizens can no longer bear more burdens. The issue raised the question of an alternative funding source for the increases if the fee is cancelled, and also touched on the increases that occurred in the components of the gasoline canister price.
3. 29 Sep 2026, 16:35 MP Nada Boustani, a member of the "Lebanon Strong" bloc, responded to the announcement by Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi of his intention to ask the Council of Ministers to cancel or suspend the 300,000-lira fee imposed on fuels, considering that the reversal came late and after objections mounted. She demanded that Saddi cancel the additional profits of station owners and importing companies, stressing that standing by citizens is not done through slogans but by cancelling the unjustified increases they pay.

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