Only one electronic cigarette out of 50 in Russia is legal, which leads to a low collection of excise taxes, according to a study by the Union of Nicotine-Containing Enterprises (UNCU), the data is available to RIA Novosti.
"The Union of Nicotine-Containing Products Enterprises (UNCU) conducted a study according to which at the moment the share of illegal production (sale) of nicotine-containing liquids and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ESDS) in Russia amounted to more than 99%, that is, now only one of the 50 electronic cigarettes sold in Russia is legal. The budget receives an excise tax deduction only from her," the UNCU said.
The union predicts that in 2024 the amount of excise duty for these liquids for electronic nicotine delivery systems produced in Russia "will be close to zero." UNCU refers to data from the Ministry of Finance, according to which, already in June-August 2024, Russian manufacturers of these liquids paid zero rubles of excise duty for them. Last year, Russian manufacturers paid 211.9 million rubles of excise duty for liquids for ESDS, according to the Federal Tax Service.
Representatives of UNCU recalled that from January 1, 2025, an excise tax on nicotine raw materials in the amount of 2.2 million rubles per kilogram will be in effect. This year, the excise tax on nicotine-containing liquids is 42 rubles per milliliter, and, according to preliminary calculations, the state budget should receive 50 billion rubles of excise tax for liquids for ESDS - the union called this amount "unattainable".
"The market is completely "black" (not even "very gray" anymore)... The consumer is not ready to buy products for this money... The state risks not receiving excise duties on nicotine raw materials at all. In addition to the missed more than 148 billion rubles in 2023, the state budget will not actually collect anything for 2024. The situation is critical - it is urgently necessary to review the state regulation of the ESDS and liquids market in order to turn its final departure into the shadows. We need to find a way to adequately collect excise taxes on nicotine raw materials and products," commented Vladimir Michelovin, President of UNCU.
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