DUSHANBE, March 1 2013, Asia-Plus – Russia has raised export duty on its oil products again.
By Russian government’s decree an export duty on petroleum has been raised from US$363.00 per ton in February to US$378.60.
Meanwhile, an export duty on Russian light oil products has been raised from US$266.20 in February to US$277.60.
We will recall that Tajikistan was exempted from paying Russian tariffs on oil and gas exports from 1995-2010 and Russia cancelled Tajikistan’s tax exemption on May 1, 2010 that resulted in gasoline prices rising in the country. A sudden spike was reported in May 2011, when export duty for Russian gasoline rose 44 percent as compared with April.
On October 5 last year, the Ministry of Energy and Industries of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation signed a memorandum on the conditions for the delivery of Russian oil products to Tajikistan.
Tajik Minister of Energy and Industries Gul Sherali and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak signed an agreement on duty-free Russian oil product deliveries to Tajikistan in Moscow on February 6, 2013.
Under this agreement, the sides consider and endorse the indicative fuel balance for the next calendar before October 1 of each year. Fuels delivered in addition to the indicative fuel balance will be liable to export duty.
Russian oil products delivered to Tajikistan in the volumes not exceeding those agreed on indicative balance are not subject to re-export to the third countries. This ban also applies to Russian oil products delivered to Tajikistan from other member nations of the Customs Union.
Under the indicative fuel balance endorsed for 2013, Russia will deliver one million tons of oil products with 50 percent of them being gasoline, free of duty to Tajikistan this year.
Russia now accounts for some 51 percent Tajikistan’s fuel imports. In January, an average price of one ton of Russian gasoline in Tajikistan was 1,112 U.S. dollars and export duty makes sup 30 percent of this price.
