27 Apr 2011 17:11

Norilsk Nickel boosts tax, customs payments 70% to 16.3 bln rubles in 2010

MOSCOW. April 27 (Interfax) - MMC Norilsk Nickel boosted tax and customs payments 70% last year to 16.3 billion rubles, the Arctic mining and smelting giant said in a statement.

This includes 10.5 billion rubles in customs payments, up 80% from 2009, and 5.7 billion rubles in taxes, up 50%.

The company did not say how much it thought it would pay in 2011. Uralsib Capital said the government's decision to peg nickel, export duties to LME prices for the metal could mean that duties for the company go up from 10% at present to 13%, and that the fiscal burden will grow by $150-$200 per tonne of nickel. Nickel averaged at $26,905 a tonne in Q1 2011, so on that basis export duty could be $3,572 a tonne in Q2-Q3 2011.