Waiver of tax maneuver is a step back, current system with fuel damper must be further adjusted - Energy Ministry

MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - The Energy Ministry believes that canceling the tax maneuver is a step backward, which should not be taken. It is necessary to continue fine-tuning the current system with the fuel damper, Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said during the plenary session of the State Duma.

Answering the deputies' question regarding whether it is time to cancel the tax maneuver in order to prevent a constant recurrence of fuel crises in the domestic market, Sorokin said: "The system that is now set up by the damper and [gradual] lifting of duties worked effectively until early summer. The damper replaces the export duty in a targeted way. We believe, and this is a consolidated position, that we should continue to fine-tune the current system [with the damper], but not take a step back [waiving the tax maneuver]".