Minister confirms Russia mulls excise duties for more products

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- The Russian government is discussing introducing excise duties on so-called harmful products at the initiative of the Healthcare Ministry and the United Russia party, Minister Veronika Skvortsova told reporters Friday.

Business daily Vedomosti reported earlier in the day citing sources that Russia may introduce excise duties for products with high concentration of fat and sugar, or directly for palm oil and sugar, as well as for carbonated beverages and chips, and electronic cigarettes.

The issue is already being discussed in the government, Skvortsova said.

At present, Russia has excise duties on alcohol, tobacco, automobile and aviation fuel, passenger cars and powerful motorbikes. Previously, there were also excise duties on jewelry.

An excise duty of U.S. $200 per tonne could be introduced for palm oil on July 1, a source at the Finance Ministry told Vedomosti. Another source said the excise duty could amount to 30% of the value.

A spokesperson for the Agriculture Ministry said the issue was not discussed with the ministry yet.

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