Belarus threatens with increasing oil transit duty :: Charter'97 :: News

The government of Belarus is likely to increase the oil transit duty since March this year. This was declared simultaneously in the ministry of economy and in the ministry of finance of the country, Interfax reports. Increase of the excise rate is essential to Belarus for rebating the oil refiners’ expenses. Moreover, the effectiveness of Belarusian oil refineries has considerably decreased due to high prices for crude oil .The situation was aggravated by the price decrease for oil products in the world- markets.

At the beginning of 2007 Belarus was made to annul a turnover tax on oil products sales proceeds and to decrease a corresponding excise rate by 60 %. That resulted from introduction of a new scheme of oil deliveries to Belarus from Russia since February this year. According to the arrangements, Russia will get USD 53 per ton of delivered oil. Previously this tariff was not imposed at all thus permitting Belarus to transfer Russian fuel to Europe and to add total export duties to the country’s budget.

At present, prices for oil deliveries to Belarus amount to around USD 225 per ton. The rate of transit to Poland and Germany comprises USD 2.6 per 1000 kilometers, to the Baltic countries-USD 1.26 and to Ukraine –USD1.14, correspondingly.