MOSCOW, November 18 – RIA Novosti. The Cabinet has instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development to prepare proposals to provide producers of beer and low-alcohol products with tax relief when paying excise duties in connection with the introduction of mandatory electronic labeling of goods for them. informs The newspaper “Kommersant” cites the minutes of the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko on November 7.

“The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy should prepare a proposal for tax deductions for beer and low alcohol product manufacturers when paying excise tax in connection with the labeling practice. The relevant instruction is included in the minutes of the meeting with the Deputy. Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko dated November 7,” said the newspaper, the Ministry of Finance. He added that he confirmed that the problem was resolved.

The newspaper recalls that an experiment on such labeling of beer products and certain types of low-alcohol beverages is being conducted in Russia until February 28, after which the measure should become mandatory. It is understood from the meeting minutes that the Cabinet agreed to introduce beer keg labeling from 1 April 2023 – beverages in glass and plastic bottles, and from 15 January 2024 – other types of packaging. .

Last year, market participants paid more than 172 billion rubles of excise duty, the Brewers’ Association reported. And according to a Kommersant source, excise taxes from large companies could exceed the cost of production. And the interlocutor of the newspaper in the association said that partial compensation for labeling costs, which for large companies will reach tens of millions of rubles, will be beneficial for market participants.

At the same time, a representative of the Center for Advanced Technologies Development (TsRPT), the operator of this system, said in an interview with the newspaper that he found the introduction of tax breaks to pay excise duties to brewers excessive. measure, because “a lot has been done to reduce business costs as much as possible.” They also added that this type of markup allows you to automate business processes and reduce operating costs.

However, industry representatives go further and generally oppose mandatory labeling. So, Yuri Antonov, general manager of the Ochakovo plant, said that his company is against the labeling system for many reasons, and the possible elimination of one of the key obstacles does not completely solve the problem. Aleksey Nebolsin, a member of the Opora Rossii Presidency Council, also points out that this entrepreneurial organization will continue to insist on removing the labeling of beer products, regardless of the SCT reduction decision.