Ministers are being asked this morning to approve the postponement of excise increases on petrol and diesel until November, under proposals brought by Tánaiste Simon Harris.Under resolutions passed by the Dáil earlier this summer, the cuts to excise introduced in the spring – which reduced the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps by 27c and 32c – were to be gradually reversed in four stages, beginning next week on September 1st and continuing every month until November 1st.However, because of oil price increases in recent weeks, this would have resulted in prices at the pumps exceeding €2 a litre for diesel and near that level for petrol.Instead, Ministers will be asked to approve proposals to postpone the restoration of excise until November, with phased increases each month until February. The final restoration will come on February 28th, it is understood.An incorporeal Cabinet meeting is taking place this morning to approve the measure proposed by Harris. This means that Ministers do not meet in person but the secretary general to the Government phones each Minister to ask if they agree with the measure.The resolution will then be put to the Dáil, which is being recalled to meet tomorrow, for a vote. The Dáil will then resume its summer recess until September 16th.The diesel rebate scheme – introduced earlier this year to ease pressure on hauliers – will also be extended.The continuing supports are costing the Exchequer about €100 million a month, according to estimates by the Revenue Commissioners. But Government sources involved in the process have insisted the move will have no implications for the October budget, and will instead be funded by running a smaller-than-planned surplus for this year.However, Government sources acknowledge that should high oil prices as a result of conflict in the Gulf continue into the autumn, it would be politically difficult to increase prices at the pumps. A price level of €2 per litre is seen as a sort of tipping point beyond which the Government cannot go.