Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy Denis Manturov had big news for airlines at the Russia 2008 forum.
Photo: Mikhail Pochuev
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Russia – The Customs-Friendly Skies
The Russian government is discussing the cancellation of customs duties on the import of airplanes seating 119-150 passengers, one of the best-selling types on the Russian market. Analysts say that about imported 200 planes of that size will be purchased in Russia in the next two years. The cancellation of the duty will thus save the Russian airline industry a considerable sum. The Russian aviation construction industry will also benefit, since the United Aviation Construction Corp. intends to begin importing those planes. Planes with a capacity of less than 50 passengers may also be exempted from duties.
Those plans were revealed by Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy Denis Manturov at the Russia 2008 forum. Deputy Minister of Transportation Boris Korol told the Aviaport agency yesterday that the exemption would extend to planes up to 15 years old brought in for up to five years. The planes will be imported through the Ilyushin Finance Corp. or another UACC affiliate.
UACC vice president Mikhail Pogsyan confirmed that the cancellation of duties was under consideration, but said that “the proposal is very raw.” At Ilyushin Finance, spokesmen stated that they were unaware of those discussions. “Plans to cancel duties contradict state policy for the development of Russian civil aviation,” one spokesman noted.
Observers note that there is no analog to planes carrying 119-150 passenger made in Russia, since Yak-42 and Tu-154 planes are no longer in production. That class includes all Boeing 737 and Airbus 319-320 models. The current duty on those planes is 20 percent.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 01, 2008
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