The Ministry of Finance sees no risks for the completion of the tax maneuver in the oil industry

MOSCOW, 12 Oct — PRIME. The Russian Ministry of Finance sees no risks for completing the tax maneuver in the oil sector in 2023, said Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov, speaking at the Russian Energy Week.

“Regarding the completion of the tax maneuver, I would like to remind you that the main problem in the tax maneuver and its movement is the refining margin. As the maneuver progressed, we gave more and more margin to production: since the export duty is reduced more than the MET, and, accordingly, the production margin as completion (of the tax maneuver in the oil industry – ed.) is growing,” Sazanov said.

“In today’s conditions, we see that the refining margin is stable,” the deputy minister said, noting that the average margin of a modern oil refining complex is now twice the historical levels. “Now it is about 4-5 thousand rubles per ton, and the historical level is 1.5-2 thousand rubles per ton,” he explained.

“Under these conditions, we do not see any risks for the completion of the tax maneuver. We will continue to move forward, and 2023 is all as planned: an increase in export duties and a decrease in the severance tax will occur and, in our opinion, will even free up an additional margin in production which is now needed,” Sazanov said.

The tax maneuver in the oil industry consists in the fact that from 2019 the customs duty is gradually reduced until it is completely abolished in 2024, in parallel, the mineral extraction tax (MET) is increased by the same amount. As a result, Russian refineries will buy oil, in fact, at world prices, but compensatory mechanisms are provided for oil refiners.

Russian Energy Week takes place in Moscow from 12 to 14 October. RIA Novosti acts as an information partner of the forum.