MOSCOW, February 26 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law aimed at reducing the costs of climate project implementers.
The document posted on the website of the official publication of legal acts exempts from VAT the services of the operator of the register of carbon units. According to the government order, the operator of this register is JSC Kontur, operating with the support of Gazprombank and the Moscow Exchange.
The register of the carbon market has been operating in Russia since September 1, 2022: participants can register climate projects, issue carbon units and conduct transactions with them . Now, in particular, the projects of Rusal, Sibur, and Inter RAO are registered in the register.
Exemption from VAT for the operator of the register of carbon units reduces the financial burden on business, which contributes to more convenient and faster registration and transactions in the register, Nikita Chaplin, a member of the State Duma Budget Committee, explained to reporters. According to him, thanks to simplified procedures and a reduction in the tax burden, Russian entrepreneurs engaged in activities in the field of carbon units can become more competitive both in the domestic and international markets.
A carbon unit is a verified result of a climate project, expressed in a mass of greenhouse gases equivalent to 1 ton of carbon dioxide. Carbon credits can be used to reduce a product's carbon footprint or offset greenhouse gas emissions quotas. As of February 19, 2024, there were 18 climate projects registered on the carbon credit registry, 93,951 carbon credits issued, and 65,544,981 carbon credits to be issued.
The concession agreement between the Ministry of Economic Development and Kontur dated December 15, 2022 provides for the registration of at least 400 climate projects per year. Based on the financial and economic justification for the law, with an approximate estimate of the amount of VAT for one climate project at 36 thousand rubles, the maximum amount of the benefit for this tax when reaching the specified parameters can be about 14.4 million rubles per year. The maximum amount of lost federal budget revenues will be the same.
The law, which contains other changes, comes into force on the date of its official publication, and the provisions relating to the operator of carbon units — a month after that, but not earlier than the 1st day of the next VAT tax period. The tax period for it is a quarter.