Economic minister supports lower duty-free notch for online orders

MARRAKESH, Oct 10 (PRIME) -- Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin supported on Tuesday the idea to reduce a duty-free threshold on imports from online shops, but the exact measures should be deliberated on and discussed.

“It’s important to understand that conditions for manufacturers in Russia and other countries should certainly be equal to have fair competition. Difference in taxation distorts this situation,” Oreshkin told reporters at the sidelines of the World Trade Organization’s ministerial meeting.

“If we have a look at what happens in other countries of the world, everything is well regulated and subject to serious taxes. This is why I fully support the story related to making taxation conditions equal.”

The Finance Ministry stipulated in the 2018–2020 budget draft a decrease of duty-free imports of Internet goods to 20 euros from 1,000 euros. The ministry said later that the government has not crafted a final decision on the matter yet.

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