Russian Finance Ministry not ready to abandon excise tax on steel, though additional adjustment to mechanism possible - Sazanov

MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry is not ready to abandon the excise tax on steel, though the mechanism could possibly be fine-tuned, State Secretary and Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2022.

"This has been a long-term source of generating budget revenue; therefore, we are not ready to abandon this source in principle," Sazanov explained. "Meanwhile, it is clear that the market situation has changed in recent months, with transportation costs having risen and the ruble having strengthened, which has had a certain effect. Accordingly, the price costs of metals companies have increased. Let us now look at the results of May-June in order to decide whether it is necessary to adjust the excise tax mechanism on steel in order to take into account the new economic realities."

When answering a question about the mineral extraction tax (MET), Sazanov recalled that prices for iron ore and coking coal are good, though it could be possible to peg the MET to other price quotes, given that the sales markets have changed,.

Cancelling the increased MET for fertilizers is not under consideration, Sazanov said.