Russian Finance Ministry opposed to reexamining excise tax on steel, budget already set - minister

CHELYABINSK. Nov 7 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry does not support the proposal from metal companies to reexamine the formula for calculating the excise tax on steel, State Secretary and Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov told Interfax.

It was reported last week that steel producers and the Industry and Trade Ministry were discussing a proposal to double the price for slabs above which steel becomes subject to excise tax to 60,000 rubles from 30,000 rubles.

"We oppose this," Sazanov said in response to a question about the Finance Ministry's position on the metal companies' proposal. "All the parameters of the budget have been determined, so no tax changes that would reduce budget revenues are possible now," he said.

He said the ministry had not received such a proposal. It does not see "any problems with excise tax payments," Sazanov said.

"The steel industry's margins are of course not what they were several years ago, but they still have the opportunity to pay excise tax," he said.

As reported, the Industry and Trade Ministry has seen the initiative to raise the slab price at which steel becomes subject to excise tax to 60,000 rubles from 30,000 rubles and is looking at it.

According to the excise tax calculation formula for vertically integrated steel producers, approved at the end of 2022, the excise tax is reset to zero if the export price for slabs for a calendar month, multiplied by the average U.S. dollar/ruble exchange rate for the calendar month, is less than 30,000 rubles.

Budget revenues from excise tax on liquid steel in 2025 are estimated at 69 billion rubles with 64.5 billion rubles expected this year.