Deputies propose to reduce duties on the import of cars, the Ministry of Industry and Trade opposes

Russian deputies continue to raise the issue of abolishing duties on the import of cars. If this measure is introduced even for a while, then this will make it possible to cope not only with the shortage of cars in the Russian market, but also with rising prices for them. So, according to the proposal of the deputies, one citizen could bring maximum three cars duty-free per year, and the age of these cars should not exceed 10 years, and the total cost should be less than 10 million rubles. Another proposal is to reduce import duties or introduce a reduced rate of 5%, which can be used by individuals who import cars for personal purposes.

It also does not exclude the creation of a separate list of cars that could be imported into Russia on preferential terms. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation still considers the protection of the domestic car market as a priority and does not support the idea of a possible introduction of incentives for the import of foreign cars, Denis Manturov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, said the previous week on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He noted that there are no problems with the saturation of the Russian market with cars now: the country has a sufficient number of them from dealers and automakers, but stocks are not bought up, including because of the high price. In this regard, it was decided to allocate 20.7 billion rubles to support demand for cars in Russia in 2022, including 10.2 billion rubles for the state program of preferential car loans.

According to the forecast of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, sales of passenger cars in Russia by the end of 2022 may be about 750 thousand units, which is 55% lower than the previous year. In five months of 2022, the Russian car market decreased by 52% to 318,114 units, according to the data of the Association of European Businesses.