The State Duma proposed to cancel VAT on products with an expiring shelf life

The Liberal Democratic Party proposed to cancel the VAT on products and bottled water with an expiration date, provided that they will be transferred to the population free of charge. The faction prepared such a bill with amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, write “Izvestia” with reference to the document.

The explanatory note states that the annual loss of food products in the Russian Federation is about a fifth of the volume of their production. The Liberal Democratic Party notes that attempts are being made to solve this problem, and yet it still persists.

According to the authors of the initiative, an effective measure in such a situation could be the free transfer of products to the population. However, this is unprofitable for retail chains, since they have the right not to pay VAT only on discarded expired products.

“According to the current legislation, it is easier for businesses to destroy these products in order not to pay taxes than to transfer them to the public free of charge. In order to avoid the continuation of such an absurd situation, we are making these changes to the Tax Code, ”explained one of the authors of the bill, Deputy Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Yaroslav Nilov.

It is clarified that it is proposed to exclude children’s and diet food, as well as alcohol from the list of goods for transfer to people.

The press service of the Liberal Democratic Party reported that the bill has already been sent for review to the government. In addition, the initiative is ready to be supported in the relevant committees of the State Duma. According to Nilov, Russian retail chains have also been offering just such a solution to the problem for a long time.

In September 2022 at the Ministry of Industry and Trade reportedthat the department, together with retailers, is developing legislative solutions for the development of a food-sharing program in Russia – the donation of expired food to people in need.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development approved the idea of ​​developing a food sharing program in July last year. Then the Ministry of Industry and Trade also notedthat food sharing is unprofitable for retailers due to VAT. In this regard, the tax for this type of operations must be canceled, the department said. According to the ministry, the donation of food products with a short shelf life by retail chains to charity will help support those in need and save about 1 million tons of food per year.