Financial Times: The utilization fee gives an advantage to Russian car manufacturers

Russia decided to introduce a fee for car recycling . A new tax, a measure that is aimed at improving the environmental situation, can give the Kremlin the opportunity to protect local automakers from undesirable competition, Inopressa reports with reference to the publication of The Financial Times .

According to the law, all cars sold in Russia will be subject to tax from September 1. The amount of tax has not yet been announced, but it is expected that it will be from 20 to 45 thousand rubles, depending on the characteristics of the car, according to the article.

At least a third of cars in Russia over 15 years old. Many should have been written off many years ago. “About 3 million new cars appear every year on the roads of Russia, the number of cars to be disposed of will only grow,” the author notes.

According to the PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, it will take at least $ 2 billion investments to create an effective recycling infrastructure.

If the law is applied correctly, then it will help in solving this problem. Car manufacturers and importers will be responsible for paying tax, and income will be used to dispose of old machines in an environmentally friendly way.

However, there are fears that some exceptions can be made in the law that will discriminate against Russian foreign trading partners. "It is still too early to judge whether there are any hidden possibilities in the recycling law, the WTO official representatives will closely follow this," the publication notes.