By LCN Business Desk
Guatemala has moved from capping a fuel price to giving up the tax on it. Congress approved Decree 22-2026 on 22 September 2026 under a national urgency procedure, suspending value added tax and the tax on the distribution of petroleum and petroleum-derived fuels on gasoline, diesel and gas oil until 31 December, Publinews reported. The vote was 148.
Diesel and gas oil are estimated to fall by Q6.34 a gallon, taking the reference price from Q47.00 to Q40.66, Guatemala.com reported. The exemption takes effect the day after publication in the official gazette and ends on 31 December, with ordinary rates returning on 1 January 2027.
What do those figures mean in dollars?
The quetzal is Guatemala's currency. At the Banco de Guatemala reference rate of Q7.63357 to the United States dollar on 23 September 2026, the figures convert as follows.
| Item | Quetzales | US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel reference price before | Q47.00 a gallon | US$6.16 |
| Diesel reference price after | Q40.66 a gallon | US$5.33 |
| The fall | Q6.34 a gallon | About 83 cents |
| The cap imposed earlier in September | Q39.00 a gallon | US$5.11 |
Converted at Q7.63357 to the United States dollar, the Banco de Guatemala reference rate for 23 September 2026. Quetzal figures from Guatemala.com.
What changed, and what was there before?
| Instrument | What it does |
|---|---|
| Price cap, early September 2026 | Government capped fuel at Q39 a gallon, about US$5.11, after trucker blockades sealed the Mexico and El Salvador routes |
| Decree 22-2026, 22 September 2026 | Congress suspends value added tax and the petroleum products tax on gasoline, diesel and gas oil |
| Vote | 148, under a national urgency procedure |
| Expiry | 31 December 2026, with ordinary rates returning on 1 January 2027 |
Source: Publinews and Guatemala.com, on the congressional approval of 22 September 2026.
Why does a cap give way to a tax cut?
A cap sets what a retailer may charge and leaves the state's revenue untouched. It makes the gap somebody else's problem, which is why it works until the importers and distributors stop absorbing it. Suspending the tax closes the same gap from the other end, and the state pays for it. This newspaper reported the cap when it was imposed, in Guatemala Caps Fuel at Q39 a Gallon.
The measure has a date on it. A tax suspension that ends on 31 December puts the price rise back on the calendar for 1 January, which is the position a government reaches when it has responded to a street rather than to a forecast.
What is happening to the price of diesel anyway?
It is rising, for reasons outside Guatemala. President Donald Trump has backed a ban on United States diesel exports and Louisiana's governor has asked for 90 days, which would hit Latin American buyers first. This newspaper covered that in Trump Has Backed a Diesel Export Ban.
Freight adds to it. The Panama Canal cut its daily booking slots to 32 and the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation has put a figure on CARICOM's exposure, reported in The Panama Canal Cut Its Daily Booking Slots to 32.
What does it cost the treasury?
No figure for foregone revenue appears in the reporting of the vote. Value added tax and the petroleum products tax on motor fuel are both broad-based collections, so the number is knowable and will sit in the fiscal accounts for the fourth quarter.
Guatemala has featured in this newspaper's compliance and tariff coverage on other measures, including the hemisphere's compliance congress in Lima, in Lima Hosts the Hemisphere's Compliance Congress, and the speed with which Honduras drafted a decree while Guyana brought a review that had commenced, in Honduras Drafted a Decree in Weeks.
What the title card shows
- 148 votes: the margin by which Guatemala's Congress approved Decree 22-2026 on 22 September 2026, under a national urgency procedure.
- Q6.34 a gallon, about 83 United States cents: the estimated fall in the diesel price, from Q47.00 (US$6.16) to Q40.66 (US$5.33). Quetzal figures from Guatemala.com, converted at Q7.63357 to the dollar, the Banco de Guatemala reference rate for 23 September 2026.
- Two taxes suspended: value added tax, and the tax on the distribution of petroleum and petroleum-derived fuels, on gasoline, diesel and gas oil.
- 31 December 2026: when the suspension ends. Ordinary rates return on 1 January 2027.
- Q39 a gallon, about US$5.11: the cap the same government imposed earlier in September, after trucker blockades.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Guatemala's Congress approve?
Decree 22-2026, suspending value added tax and the petroleum products distribution tax on gasoline, diesel and gas oil until 31 December 2026. It passed on 22 September 2026 with 148 votes under a national urgency procedure.
How much will diesel fall, in dollars?
An estimated Q6.34 a gallon, which is about 83 United States cents, taking the reference price from Q47.00 to Q40.66, or from US$6.16 to US$5.33. Converted at Q7.63357 to the dollar, the Banco de Guatemala reference rate for 23 September 2026.
When does it start and end?
It takes effect the day after publication in the official gazette and ends on 31 December 2026. Ordinary rates return on 1 January 2027.
Why did this follow a price cap?
Guatemala capped fuel at Q39 a gallon, about US$5.11, earlier in September after trucker blockades closed the routes to Mexico and El Salvador. A cap constrains what sellers may charge; suspending the tax removes the state's own share of the price instead.