Russian companies begin paying environmental fee

According to the Federal Law as of 24.06.1998 №89-FL (edited 28.12.2016) «On Wastes of Production and Consumption » and the Federal Law as of 29.12.2015 №404-FL «On Amendments to the Federal Law «On Environmental Protection» and certain legislative acts of the RF», since April 15, 2017 manufacturers and importers of goods utilized after consumer performance loss are obliged to pay an environmental fee.

The list of finished goods (including packing) utilized after consumer performance loss is approved by the Order of the Government of the RF as of 24.09.2015 № 1886-r (edited 19.01.2017). The list includes:

• accumulators and accumulator batteries;
• barrels and similar metallic containers, metallic package;
• paper and paper products , paper stationery, corrugated carton, paper and carton package;
• consumer electronics;
• household nonelectric appliances;
• outwear, workwear and underwear;
• wooden building goods and joinery, wooden package;
• carpets, carpet and textile products;
• computers, peripheral and communication equipment;
• vehicles and general purpose equipment;
• oil products;
• optical instruments and photographic equipment;
• printed newspapers;
• plastic packaging and building products;
• power-operated hand tools;
• flat bent and worked glass, glass bottles and flacons, other hollow glasswork;
• refrigerator and ventilation industrial equipment;
• household, sanitary and toilet goods and appliances;
• tires, scrap tires, rubber bags and other rubber products;
• electrical lighting and household equipment and appliances.

The environmental fee is classified by the Federal Law as non-tax revenues of the federal budget and, according to the Decision of the Government of the RF, is administered by the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage (Rosprirodnadzor).

The environmental fee for packed goods that are not ready to use is paid only for package, and the fee is not paid for goods utilized and exported from Russia.

The environmental fee rate is based on average expenses for collection, transportation, processing and utilization of products lost consumer performance. Unit costs for infrastructure development for that purpose also can be included into the environmental fee rate.

The environmental fee rates are established by the Decision of the Government of Russia.

The amount of an environmental fee is calculated by multiplying of the environmental fee rate by mass or quantity of finished goods subjected to utilization on the territory of the RF, or by mass of package used for production of this good, and by utilization standard expressed in relative units. If manufacturers or importers, that utilize waste by themselves, fail to achieve these standards, there is payment of an environmental fee calculated as multiplying of the environmental fee rate by the difference between established and real values of the utilized waste quantity.

The Federal Law admits waste utilization both independently and based on contract with a correspondent special-purpose authorized enterprise. For that purpose making manufacturers or importers union is also possible.

In practice, the amount of fee is defined on the basis of confirmed report forms. Manufacturers and importers are obliged to send the declaration indicating quantity of produced or imported goods and package for the year following the accounting period and the report on quantity of utilized waste to the Rosprirodnadzor to the 1st of April.

It is necessary to calculate and pay an environmental fee to April, 15.