Reverse excise tax on oil refining abroad to be calculated as for domestic refineries with restricted ratio - Sazanov
MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax) - The reverse excise tax on the toll refining of oil abroad will be calculated by the same method as for Russian oil refineries, but the specific coefficient which characterizes the basket of oil refinery products in the excise formula will be limited.
Asked which companies reverse excise tax payments could apply to in oil refining overseas and on what terms, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov said, "Those which are in the government list."
"The calculation method will be the same as the one used for Russian oil refineries, based on the volume of petroleum products produced from each tonne of oil refined, [with a coefficient of] no more than 0.53," he said.
The Finance Ministry is proposing amendments to the Tax Code that would usher in a reverse excise tax on the toll refining of oil outside Russia. The amendments have been drafted for the second reading of the ministry's tax bill (No. 1026190-8), which is part of the budget package, a source familiar with the document has told Interfax. Only a company authorized by the government will be able to do this. The amendments say the Spu coefficient when calculating excise tax for refining oil abroad on a tolling basis should not exceed 0.53.
Sources said the purpose of the measure was, if the need arises, to refine Russian oil primarily at Belarusian refineries, which are underutilized.
Sazanov also said the amendments provided for the possibility of concluding new refinery modernization agreements using the investment surcharge. "This is in the government's amendments. Those refineries that have not previously entered into such an agreement will have until the middle of next year to do so," he said.
The amendments in question permit new investment agreements to be concluded for refinery modernization with the payment of an investment surcharge on top of the reverse excise tax on oil (a multiplying factor of 1.3 in the reverse excise tax formula). These amendments also relax the terms of existing modernization agreements at Far Eastern refineries.
