The State Duma adopted amendments to the Tax Code in the first reading, which introduce an excise tax on sugar-containing beverages in the amount of 7 rubles per liter in the Russian Federation from January 1, 2023.
The bill (N201629-8) was submitted to Parliament by the Government on September 28, together with the draft three-year federal budget. It includes tax innovations on the recovery of proceeds from a number of industries.
It is assumed that the new excise tax will affect soft drinks produced with the addition of sugar or other sweetening substances in a volume of more than 5 grams per 100 ml. Non-alcoholic beverages include beverages made with the use of drinking or mineral water, with a volume fraction of ethyl alcohol of no more than 0.5%, as well as beverages made with alcohol-containing raw materials, with a volume fraction of ethyl alcohol of no more than 1.2%.
The list of excisable goods is not planned to include fermented beverages, kvass with an ethyl alcohol content of 0.5% to 1.2% inclusive, juices, nectars, juice drinks, fruit drinks.
Additional revenues from the new excise tax are estimated at 35 billion rubles annually. It is assumed that the funds will be used to implement the activities of the federal project "Combating diabetes mellitus", the explanatory note to the document says.
The idea of an excise tax on sugary drinks has been discussed in the Russian Federation for several years. The government returned to it in 2021. The Vedomosti newspaper reported that the government instructed the departments to consider the issue of excise taxes on sugar-containing beverages. The Ministry of Agriculture then did not approve the idea, fearing rising prices, lower production, a reduction in the number of producers and the emergence of an illegal market.
The initiative was opposed by the Union of Juice Producers, Water and Beverages, as well as the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE).
Source:
interfax.ru