MINSK, 4 November (BelTA) – Losses of the central state budget from the terminated “recustoms procedure” with regard to Russian oil are estimated at Br951 million in 2020, BelTA learned from Belarusian First Deputy Finance Minister Yuri Seliverstov during an expanded-participation session of the Budget and Finance Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus. The session was held to discuss a package of draft legislation for 2020.
The first deputy finance minister noted that the next year's state budget had been drafted taking into account the baseline economic development scenario. It expects Belarus' GDP growth rate to reach 101.9%, with the refinancing rate at 9.5% and the average price for oil of the Urals variety at $60 per barrel. The document also expects that Belarus will import 18 million tonnes of oil from Russia for the sake of refining it.
“This year's revenues of the state budget have been calculated in conditions of the growing influence of the tax maneuver in the Russian Federation, a possible increase in prices for the natural gas Belarus imports, falling prices and volumes of the export of potash fertilizers. The total volume of budget revenue losses in 2020 is estimated at Br1.9 billion. Revenues from export customs duties on oil products will drop by Br537 million. Revenues from the so-called recustoms procedure will drop by Br951 million.”
In April 2017 Belarus and Russia signed a package of documents to address their differences of opinion with regard to trade in oil and natural gas. As part of the deal Russia was supposed to transfer the sum of customs duties from the export of 6 million tonnes of Russian oil to Belarus's budget every year. The procedure was also known as the recustoms procedure.
While talking to reporters, Chairwoman of the Budget and Finance Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Lyudmila Dobrynina noted that the next year's revenues of the state budget are supposed to reach Br24.4 billion. Tax revenues will represent the bulk of the sum – 81.2%.
In nominal terms revenues of the next year's state budget will increase by only 0.3% in comparison with 2019. She explained it by a number of objective reasons. “In particular, the budget takes into account losses from the tax maneuver the Russian Federation is implementing to the tune of Br537 million,” Lyudmila Dobrynina specified.
