It is the most unpopular tax in Britain.
And for motorists, its impact is becoming more excruciating every day as oil continues its march higher on the back of a tide of unrest rolling through the Middle East and North Africa.
With UK petrol prices hitting record highs this month - the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol touched £1.32 - it is no surprise that the Chancellor’s stance on duty will come under close scrutiny in the Budget.
Of the total retail price that motorists pay for a litre of petrol, about 67 per cent is made up of fuel duty and VAT - a fact that is arouses deepening resentment among British consumers and businesses.
Fuel duty is set to increase by 1p plus RPI, which is the higher rate of inflation and is currently at 5.1 per cent, every April until 2014.
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Already, there are signs that the Government is buckling under the pressure.
George Osborne signalled a willingness to compromise when he offered a 5p fuel discount for motorists in the Highlands of Scotland and the Scilly Isles.
It is fair to say that this move only affects a tiny number of people in Britain’s most remote communities, and is little more than a token.
But this is unlikely to be his only concession. It would be a foolish Chancellor not to use the Budget to unveil further measures this month to help ease the pressure on the nation’s 34 million motorists and now seems virtually assured that he will use the Budget to announce the removal of the rise.
He may have other plans too.
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There has been talk of a fair fuel stabiliser – where duty is pegged to the price of oil so that when crude goes up as it has in recent weeks the proportion of tax goes down and vice versa – helping ensure a steady price at the pump.
But the complexity and challenges of introducing such a system in practice make this a long shot.
Treasury mandarins are also known to disapprove of the idea, which would be welcomed by the public but play havoc with the level of tax revenues raised from petrol – an important contributor to Britain’s overstretched public finances.
Mr Osborne may consider other options such as reining in VAT on petrol for a set period, although this seems unlikely given that it was only raised to 20 per cent in January.
Cutting road tax or tinkering with fuel duty are other possibilities. The problem the Chancellor faces is that, like everyone else, he has no idea what oil prices will do next.
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If they double, as International Development Minister Alan Duncan warned was a real danger, then popular anger could turn out to be political dynamite, damaging Britain’s economic recovery and potentially the coalition Government with it.
Then again, it could vanish within days if the crisis in the Middle East subsides and prices fall, especially if Mr Osborne is given a helping hand by a stronger pound.
In the Budget, he must attempt to walk a fine line between assuaging popular anger over record prices at the pump without upsetting the government’s plans to balance the books. It will not be an easy stunt to perform.