Russian Ministry of Transport to Set New Border Taxes

The Russian Ministry of Transport plans to establish new taxes on border crossings, reports Russian ‘Kommersant.’ The money received from the taxes will be used for developing and improving border infrastructure and will go towards partial compensation of maintenance costs.

At the first stage, taxes will be paid at road and rail checkpoints. The ministry has set measurements for the determination of taxes for vehicles by category (passenger or cargo), while for rail transport according to cargo volume.

The exact mechanism for tax administration is yet to be announced. The Russian media reported that the new tax rules are expected to be launched in the second half of 2017.

Shipping companies say that the additional border taxes will cause a tariff increase, which will, in turn, increase the market for products. This might negatively influence Georgian export to Russia as Russia is among it most important trading partners. In January-August 2016, Russia's share in total exports for Georgia was 9 percent.

Natia Liparteliani