The St. Petersburg International Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (SPIMEX) will offer market participants to trade in aviation kerosene with the participation of a commodity supply operator. This was announced on Tuesday, August 25, by the Vedomosti newspaper, citing sources.
According to the stock exchange for July, the share of intermediary traders in the volume of aviation kerosene trading amounted to about 51%. Since aviation kerosene is not subject to excise duty, some traders purchase it to make surrogate diesel fuel.
“Acquisition of jet fuel for subsequent sale under the guise of diesel fuel is often practiced by unscrupulous market participants. And inappropriate use spurs demand, ”said Dmitry Gusev, vice president of the Independent Fuel Union.
He noted that the state loses more than 8 thousand rubles per ton on lost taxes, and the consumer risks getting products that will lead to a car breakdown.
SPIMEX prepared and sent requests to regulators to study the possibility of introducing appropriate restrictions. In particular, it is proposed to introduce in the fourth quarter of 2020 the institute of commodity supply operators, which will keep records and control of the sold products.
According to Sergei Suverov, investment strategist of Arikapital Management Company, the exchange’s initiative may reduce the misuse of jet fuel, thereby helping to stabilize prices, but the issue of the fiscal burden on the industry remains unresolved.
“If taxes and excise taxes were not more than 70% in the pricing of diesel, the cost would have been lower and some unscrupulous market participants would not have been tempted to misuse kerosene,” added Suverov.
A few weeks ago, the Russian Association of Air Transport Operators asked the Ministry of Transport to organize a joint inspection of the pricing of aviation kerosene at Russian airports with the Ministry of Energy and the Federal Antimonopoly Service.