PRESS: Russian govt turns down Rosneft’s plea for lower MET tax

MOSCOW, Jul 18 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Economic Development Ministry has turned down a petition by oil company Rosneft to reduce the rate of the mineral extraction tax (MET) on its shelf deposits, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday, citing an answer to the petition.

Rosneft was asking to requalify its eight new deposits in the Pechora Sea to the fourth category of recovery complexity from the second one, which would mean a MET reduction to 5% from 15%.

The company was also asking to cut the MET rate on oil and gas for fields of the fourth category of complexity to 1% from 5% and to give the right for an eternal tax incentive. This petition was also turned down, the daily reported.

Business daily Vedomosti reported citing government officials that the Finance Ministry is informally discussing prolongation of an increased MET rate on gas for 2016. “This is evidently unavoidable on the back of a large budgetary deficit both this year and the next one,” an official said. Another official told the daily that the industry will cope with the burden.

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