The Ministry of Finance allowed the increase in the severance tax on coal in the fourth quarter

The Ministry of Finance may increase the MET on coal in the fourth quarter of 2023. About this informs “Kommersant” with reference to the press service of the department.

“If the first quarter is with good financial results, we will offer an increased MET for the fourth quarter, and not the introduction of export duties,” a ministry spokesman said. The press service stressed that now the introduction of export duties is not considered.

The coal companies refused to comment on the plans of the Ministry of Finance. As the publication notes, almost the entire industry has ceased to disclose financial statements, so it is possible to judge the financial position of companies only by individual statements and statistics from Rosstat. According to the agency, in 2022, the balanced profit of coal companies increased by 10%, to 821.1 billion rubles. At the same time, the share of profitable companies decreased to 67.3% against 70.6% a year earlier.

In January, the balanced profit fell by 62.7% to 39 billion rubles, while the share of profitable companies decreased to 58.4%.

Since the beginning of 2022, Russia has introduced a new MET calculation for a number of solid minerals, including coking coal. The tax is now pegged to global conditions: the rate is set at 1.5% of the average coal price in accordance with the SGX TSI FOB Australia Premium Coking Coal index. In 2022, tax revenues from the Russian coal industry doubled to RUB 360 billion. In 2023, taxes were also temporarily raised – from January 1 to March 31.

The goal of the Ministry of Finance was to withdraw the excess profits of coal companies that they earned in 2021 and 2022. due to the sharp rise in prices. However, due to the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the companies were unable to take full advantage of the situation, the newspaper notes. A discount was formed on their products relative to world benchmarks, which already in April 2022 reached 50%, and the strengthening of the ruble also negatively affected profits.

Last summer, the Ministry of Energy proposed to abandon the introduced index and return a fixed tax – 57 rubles. per ton of coking coal. In October, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov reportedthat the Ministry of Finance is working on this idea.

Then Belousov predicted zero export duty on coal in 2023. At that time, the issue of calculating the duty rate was discussed with the Ministry of Finance. The cut-off price was set at $150/t, Belousov recalled, but the contract price at that time was $130-140/t. The First Deputy Prime Minister explained that if the market situation improves and the price rises by $150/ton, then part of the excess profit will be withdrawn to the budget. Already in November, from the idea of ​​introducing an export duty from 2023. refused.