The Ministry of Finance is going to limit private exports of gold
[ad_1]
The Ministry of Finance wants to limit the volumes of gold exports from the Russian Federation by individuals that have sharply increased in recent months. According to officials and confirmed by bankers, citizens are increasingly purchasing and exporting bars and coins as couriers for business, effectively implementing gray exports that allow companies to save on duties. At the same time, lawyers emphasize that restrictions on the value of exported gold already exist.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev told Interfax about the sharp increase in the export of gold by individuals from Russia: “We are afraid that the situation will simply get out of control due to the fact that export by individuals has become a way to bypass the duty, and a legal one at that. We see a sharp increase in exports. I can’t give the numbers, but it’s a multiple.”
According to the official, “people just got lucky in their pockets, why pay, say, 7% – there is a different percentage depending on the exchange rate – if you don’t have to pay, they shoved it in and went.”
As Kommersant’s interlocutors close to the Ministry of Finance explained, we are talking about gold bars and coins.
From October 1, Russia introduced export duties linked to the ruble exchange rate on a wide range of goods, including gold. The duty ranges from 4% to 7% of the customs value, depending on the exchange rate of the national currency; it will be charged at an exchange rate of 80 rubles/$1 and higher. They will be valid until the end of the year.
The increase in gold exports by individuals after the introduction of the duty also caused a surge in metal sales within the country. Experts estimated the basic potential demand of Russians for precious metals in bullion at 50 tons per year. This was stated in the explanatory note to the law, which gave citizens tax breaks for transactions with gold.
The law came into force on March 9, 2023 and abolished VAT (20%) on investment gold for individuals. The norm applies to legal relations arising from March 1, 2022, that is, it has retroactive effect. In addition, citizens were exempt from paying personal income tax (13%) when selling gold bars in 2022 and 2023. This rule also applies to transactions from January 1, 2022 to the present.
The benefits led to a significant increase in demand: in 2022 alone, individuals bought more than 75 tons of gold, which is 15 times more than in 2021. Data for 2023 is not yet available. The Central Bank did not respond to Kommersant’s request. But during the period of weakening of the ruble, banks noted new surges in demand for gold (see “Kommersant” from September 19 And 21 December 2023).
According to preliminary estimates based on bank data, by the end of 2023, citizens could also purchase about 75 tons of gold. At the same time, experts believe that gray exports may account for more than half of this volume.
The sale of gold bars to citizens in most countries is generally free, no licenses are required, emphasizes Vladislav Varshavsky, managing partner of Varshavsky and Partners.
Bankers say they cannot influence the situation, although they know about the scheme. The head of Realist Bank, Vladimir Elmanin, emphasizes that credit institutions “only sell gold and do not see how it is used further.” “If you export not through individuals, then you need to pay a duty of 5% to 7%, citizens take advantage of the resulting gap,” he confirms.
As the Federal Customs Service (FCS) explained to Kommersant, currently the EAEU legislation does not require mandatory customs declaration of gold exported by individuals for personal use: “Throughout 2023, customs authorities have repeatedly recorded and suppressed cases of smuggling of gold exported from the territory of the EAEU under the guise of goods for personal use. In some cases, gold is exported by organized groups of people allegedly traveling to the EAEU countries, which allows them to avoid customs control in the green corridor.”
Now the Ministry of Finance is preparing a project to limit the export of gold by individuals.
“There will be fixed volumes… It is assumed that this will be the nominal value, it is quite small, I won’t say what it is yet,” explained Mr. Moiseev. According to his assessment, the “realistic operational deadline” for the release of the document is closer to the end of the first quarter.
Managing Partner of Enterprise Legal Solutions Yuri Fedyukin clarifies that for personal purposes, without a declaration, citizens can export gold worth no more than €10 thousand and weighing up to 50 kg when transported by plane (for other transport the norm is lower). “If you have a completed declaration, a purchase and sale agreement for the bullion and documents that confirm its fineness and weight, you can export gold worth up to €25 thousand for personal purposes,” the lawyer clarifies. “Everything over that was exported legally by an individual for personal purposes.” It can’t be, the metal can be confiscated, and the person can even be brought to criminal responsibility for smuggling.”
The reason for not declaring large volumes of exported gold may be due to reluctance to pay duties. For individuals, this is 30% of the amount above the standard, or €4 per kilogram above the standard, believes Yuri Fedyukin. However, according to him, “taking into account the rising cost of gold and the depreciation of the ruble, the export of undeclared gold worth more than €10 thousand across the borders of the union countries has an extremely high risk of criminal liability.”
[ad_2]
Source link
