BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

12/12/2006

Russia to introduce duty on oil delivered to Belarus

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Russia will introduce a duty of USD 180.7 per tonne for oil delivered to Belarus starting on January 1, 2007. Russian oil is currently delivered to Belarus free of charge. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov signed a resolution on December 8 according to which oil supplied to Belarus will be subject to a duty just like for other countries that are not part of the Customs Union, the Russian presidential press service said.

The government reviews oil and petroleum product export duty every two months based on price monitoring for Urals crude on world markets. The price for Urals crude was reduced by USD 56.90 to USD 180.7 per tonne on December 1.

The Russian side said its decision stemmed from Belarus' decision to sever an intergovernmental agreement under which 85% of the export duty for the oil products made in Belarus from Russian crude should have been paid to Russian state coffers and 15% to the Belarussian budget.

It has been estimated that Russia is annually losing over USD 4 billion over the difference in the export duties. For instance, as of December 1 the export duty on light distillates and gasoil in Russia is USD 134 for a tonne and in Belarus USD 75.8, on fuel oil, lubricants and processed oil products USD 92.9 for a tonne and in Belarus USD 72.2.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/5/221983/news.aspx

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