The authorities will keep coal companies deferred for the payment of mineral extraction tax and insurance premiums
The authorities plan to extend the deferral of taxes and fees for coal companies as part of the anti-crisis program for the industry, such a measure of support will be maintained until the end of February next year.
The government has decided to extend until February 28, 2026, inclusive, the deadlines for payment of the mineral extraction tax (MET) on coal and insurance premiums, and not to apply before this date methods to ensure the fulfillment of obligations to pay taxes, fees, insurance premiums in respect of debt. Debt collection measures at the expense of funds in the taxpayer's accounts are also inapplicable.
Deferrals on mineral extraction tax and insurance premiums are included in the list of sector-wide support measures for coal miners. Initially, it was assumed that their validity period was provided for six months, until December 1, 2025, with the possibility of prolongation at the discretion of a special subcommittee chaired by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Support for coal miners also includes targeted measures. In addition to postponements, the list includes financial recovery programs with the help of direct beneficiaries, including through restrictions on the payment of dividends, salaries to top management and cost optimization, as well as debt restructuring of companies and logistical relief in the form of compensation for Russian Railways tariffs in the amount of 12.8% and subsidizing long-distance transportation.
In May—November, coal companies received tax deferrals in the amount of approximately 45 billion rubles, which provides savings of up to 3 billion rubles on interest payments.
As Dmitry Islamov, Deputy Minister for Energy, stated during the Russian Energy Week, the agency adheres to the forecast for the financial results of coal miners this year at the level of 300 billion rubles. losses (against 112.6 billion rubles a year earlier) and 1.5 trillion rubles of accounts payable (against 1.2 trillion rubles by the end of 2024). Lopatin, in turn, pointed out at the end of November that the Ministry of Energy predicts a net loss of up to 350 billion rubles for Russian coal companies. Currently, 74% of enterprises are unprofitable and 23 of them have already stopped their production/
At the same time, the activities carried out by the coal industry — the development and implementation of projects in the East, which means a change in the "geographical structure of production" — make it possible to maintain coal production at the level of the same period of the previous year in the first half of 2025, Lopatin noted. According to Islamov, by the end of the year, the Ministry of Energy expects exports to be at the level of last year: then it amounted to 196.2 million tons, and production — 443.5 million tons (such data was provided by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak at the beginning of the year).
Coal exports,
