UPDATE: Russian industry ministry sees launch of tax free system soon

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MOSCOW, Jan 25 (PRIME) -- The Industry and Trade Ministry expects a tax free system to be introduced in Russia very soon, and has filed all the necessary documents to the Finance Ministry, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Yevtukhov told reporters on Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry has already included the tax free mechanism into its main policy directions. The mechanism will be launched in a pilot mode in Moscow, the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and Sochi.

“We expect a decision on a tax free system to be made very soon. As of now, we have developed and submitted all the necessary documentation to the Finance Ministry,” he said, adding that the decision on a further expansion of the system will be done on the basis of results of the pilot run.

A representative of the Finance Ministry said foreign tourists will be able to return value-added tax (VAT) paid for purchases of goods totaling no more than 10,000 rubles per deal in Russia under the pilot mode already in 2017. “We have not defined the time period for the pilot test, we will track the situation,” the person said.

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