PRESS: Russia mulls excise duties for palm oil, sugar, chips

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- The Russian government 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, business daily Vedomosti reported Friday citing sources in the government’s financial and economic block.

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

A spokesperson for the Economic Development Ministry confirmed to Vedomosti that the issue was being considered.

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.

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