Illegal alcohol costing Russian budget 40 bln rubles annually - Interior Ministry
MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax) - Illegal alcohol sales are costing the Russian budget around 40 billion rubles in lost revenue each year, the Internal Affairs Ministry says in materials for parliamentary hearings on amendments to the law on alcohol regulation.
Legal alcohol only accounts for around 40% of total sales, the ministry says, quoting the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). Given that annual alcohol sales are already approaching 200 million decaliters, losses to the budget from non-payment of excises come to around 40 billion rubles.
The ministry says very little of the illegally sold alcohol is produced at clandestine distilleries, and this does not have much of an impact on the overall situation.
"The Southern and North Caucasian federal districts remain problem regions from the point of view of illegal alcohol," the ministry says.