Law passed by State Duma will save 3.75 billion rubles from Bashkiria budget

UFA, 19 October 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Alim Faizov/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. The State Duma passed a law that would save 3.75 billion rubles of the republican budgetary funds for the construction of the eastern exit from Ufa.

The Law “On Amendments to Article 4 of the Federal Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on Taxes and Fees” was adopted by the State Duma in the third and final reading. Its project was submitted to the State Duma by the State Assembly - Kurultay of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The document proposes the introduction of a delay until January 1, 2023, with regard to certain restrictions of tax legislation established in November last year.

“For Bashkortostan, the adoption of the law means budget savings of almost four billion rubles”, commented on the Speaker of the Republican Parliament Konstantin Tolkachev. “The amendments to the Tax Code made last year created certain difficulties for the implementation of investment projects in the field of road construction. In our republic, it relates to the eastern exit project from Ufa to the federal highway M-5 “Ural”, which envisages the construction of a road tunnel, a bridge over the Ufa river and a road with a total length of about 18 kilometers”.

The concession agreement on the eastern exit was concluded on June 1, 2017. The total amount of construction funding is 34 billion rubles during the years 2018-2021. The financial structure of the project provides for the payment of a principal grant of 24.5 billion rubles from the federal and republican budgets to the concessionaire in the form of budget investments. This form of financing allowed the concessionaire to deduct the incoming VAT for the amount of goods, works and services paid, including at the expense of the grant funds.

“This corresponded to the legislation being in force at the time”, Konstantin Tolkachev explained. “Subsequently, a direct ban was introduced on deducting VAT paid by buyers for goods, works, services, through subsidies or budget investments. Due to the impossibility of reimbursing VAT the concessionaire has a shortage of funds to finance the cost of the project in the amount of 3.75 billion rubles. As a result, the payment under the concession agreement from the republican budget should increase by this amount. To save these funds, the Parliament of the republic proposed to amend the federal legislation”.

If approved by the upper house of the Russian Parliament, the draft law will be sent for signing by the head of state.