State revenues from the excise tax on sugar—containing beverages (effective in Russia from July 1, 2023) this year will amount to 10.4 billion rubles, and in 2024-2026 - 25 billion rubles per year, respectively. This follows from the explanatory note to the draft federal budget for 2024 and the planning period of 2025 and 2026 (the version dated September 21 is available from RBC, its authenticity was confirmed by a federal official). RBC sent a request to the Ministry of Finance.
The law on amendments to the Tax Code, which introduced in Russia an excise tax on sugar-containing beverages in the amount of 7 rubles per liter, was signed by President Vladimir Putin in November 2022. Soft drinks containing sugar or other sweeteners (glucose, fructose, sugar syrup, etc.) more than 5 g per 100 ml fall under the excise tax. The tax does not apply to juices, fruit drinks, syrups, milk and dairy products, jelly or other plant-based beverages (with the exception of tonic drinks or containing carbon dioxide). Excise duty is also not levied on alcoholic beverages with a strength of more than 0.5%, as well as on grape, fruit, honey, beer and other wort, fermented fruit materials and kvass with an ethyl alcohol content of less than 1.2%.
The changes were initiated by the government. From the explanatory note to the bill, it followed that due to these excise taxes, the authorities expected to receive about 35 billion rubles of additional federal budget revenues per year. It was planned that these funds would be used to fight diabetes.
The introduction of an excise tax on sugar-containing beverages has been discussed for a long time. Back in 2016, the Ministry of Finance proposed to tax sugary drinks in the amount of 5 rubles per liter, the Vedomosti newspaper reported. According to the agency's estimates, this measure could bring additional revenues to the budget in the amount of 80 billion rubles: in 2017 — 25 billion rubles, and in 2018 and 2019 — 27 billion and 28 billion rubles, respectively. However, then the Ministry of Finance postponed the introduction of excise duty due to the fact that the measure could have a painful effect on the industry during the crisis. They returned to the idea in 2022: in September, the Ministry of Finance included the proceeds from the excise tax on sugary drinks in the budget revenues for 2023-2025.
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