Russia's parliament approves tax changes to address fuel shortages
Russia's parliament approves tax changes to address fuel shortages
ReutersWed, June 24, 2026 at 12:14 PM UTC
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Vehicles queue to refuel at a Lukoil petrol pump, as according to local officials some regional filling stations face gasoline shortages due to production cuts at major refineries, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 23, 2026. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov
MOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament approved on Wednesday amendments to the Tax Code aimed at tackling growing fuel shortages due to Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries, while also offering subsidies on fuel imports, pegged to Indian delivery costs and prices.
The country's regions have been experiencing shortages of gasoline and diesel in the past few weeks, leading to some fuel price increases and long queues at filling stations.
One of the tax amendments allows usage of poor-quality fuel in blending straight-run gasoline with other components, according to the parliament's website.
"This is a very important law. It is aimed at stabilising the situation on the domestic market and increasing the supply of motor fuel, both through domestic production and imports," Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov told lawmakers.
"Ultimately, saturating the market with motor fuel will lead to price stability," he said.
Other changes include delaying certain equipment modernisation at refineries while preserving some tax benefits.
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Russia has also considered a diesel export ban, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.
Russia has already banned exports of gasoline and jet fuel.
Russia's gasoline output last week was around 90,000 metric tons a day, down about 25% from the daily average in June 2025, industry sources said.
According to LSEG data and market sources, its seaborne oil product exports were down about 15% in the first half of June compared to the first half of May, due to unplanned refinery maintenance after repeated drone attacks.
Last week, four industry sources said Russia was set to import fuel by sea in June as it seeks to manage the gasoline shortage.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Source: “AOL Breaking”
