Beneficial favor: manufacturers of electronic base machine tools will have their insurance premiums reduced

Manufacturers of equipment necessary for the creation of electronic component base, from January 1, 2025 will enjoy a reduced tariff of insurance contributions in the amount of 7.6%, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The Ministry of Industry and Trade explained that this and other support measures "will have a positive impact on the final cost of equipment". Details - in the material "Izvestia".

Comprehensive approach

In addition to the introduction of benefits for insurance premiums, the Ministry of Industry and Trade next year plans to substantially consider the possibility of tools to stimulate demand for Russian equipment, reported "Izvestia" in the press service of the department.

"This is the possibility of extending to electronic engineering subsidies for a discount on the purchase of domestic machine tools (this measure is successfully working in the traditional machine tool industry), as well as we plan to work on the criteria for attributing electronic engineering equipment to Russian products through a well-established point system of evaluation," - specified in the ministry.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Vitaly Timkiv

The introduction of benefits is primarily aimed at stimulating the development of new products, the Ministry of Industry and Trade noted.

"Electronic machine building is a relatively new industry for Russia, and it is extremely important to direct the maximum possible resources to the formation of scientific and technical backlog. Nevertheless, we can hope that such benefits will have a positive impact on the final cost of equipment," the Ministry of Industry and Trade added.

Manufacturers will be able to use the preferential tariff starting from January 1 of the next year. However, the main condition for granting this measure of support is that the share of the company's income from the sale of equipment necessary for the creation of the element base should be at least 70%.

The benefit will also apply to manufacturers of lathe metal-cutting machine tools with numerical control, devices for the production of semiconductor ingots or wafers, equipment and tooling for the manufacture of printing plates, allowing to establish mass production of microchips.

Chain reaction

Support of machine tool industry is necessary for all industries, not only for electronics, said Oleg Kalmanovich, chief analyst of neomarkets.

- The introduction of relaxations for such companies looks like a logical step in the complex of support measures, as in human-intensive industries the expenditures on FOT (labor remuneration fund) are a weighty part of the costs, the release of at least part of these funds can be directed to the development of the company, search for suppliers or sales market, solving logistic problems, servicing loans, etc., - the expert told "Izvestia".

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergei Konkov

Nevertheless, according to him, there are still many problems. Companies that solve the problems of import substitution still buy equipment, spare parts, consumables and raw materials abroad.

- The sharp weakening of the ruble in the last weeks of the fall forces manufacturers to purchase necessary components at high prices. Besides, due to the sanctions pressure, payment for supplies turns into a non-trivial task every time. When the authorities solve the issue of international transactions to China, the UAE and other countries, the costs of almost all business in Russia will automatically decrease (for example, the launch of bricspay and/or simplification of accounting for companies that pay counterparties with cryptocurrency), - said the expert.

Support ideas

The reduction of insurance premiums for electronic equipment manufacturers is a serious step forward in the development of domestic microelectronics, says Denis Antipov, general director of the SEZ "Dobrograd-1".

- Companies working in the sphere of high technologies will have an opportunity to significantly reduce costs and direct the freed funds to the development of production and attraction of qualified specialists," Denis Antipov told Izvestia. - In the current conditions, it is important not to stop at what has been achieved. In addition to reducing insurance premiums, businesses need preferential loans for technical re-equipment and tax preferences when purchasing raw materials and components.

Such a comprehensive approach, according to him, will reduce the cost of production by 12-15% and make domestic equipment more competitive.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexei Malgavko

- As for the market situation, we see a growing demand for Russian microelectronics solutions. Sanctions have certainly created certain difficulties, but at the same time they have opened up new opportunities for local manufacturers. The main thing is to provide manufacturers with the necessary support and create conditions for technological development," the expert believes.

Earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov said that the agencies will work out the transition to advance payment in the amount of 80% of the initial (maximum) contract price in public procurement in the field of radio electronics to support domestic manufacturers.

"Taking into account the key rate, we have already discussed this issue today. We are formalizing this approach, and I will give instructions to the relevant Ministry of Finance and Anton Andreevich (Alikhanov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation) so that colleagues could promptly prepare such a decision and bring it to the government," he said.

Market volumes

In turn, Mikhail Mishustin noted that in the coming years Russia should overcome critical dependence on foreign technologies in the field of microelectronics. Also, he emphasized, it is necessary to expand the line of manufactured measuring and auxiliary equipment, to increase the production of special and high-purity gases for the production of electronic components, to ensure independence in terms of computer-aided design systems and software for the architecture of specialized component base.

Photo: Izvestia/Pavel Volkov

The market volume, in particular, of domestic radio electronic products in 2023 amounted to 2.63 trillion rubles. This is 1.6 times more than in 2020. For 2024, the market should reach Br2.8 trillion, and at the end of seven months since the beginning of the year it has already reached Br1.51 trillion, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vasily Shpak. He also noted that over the past four years the number of names in the register of Russian radioelectronic products has increased by 720%, up to 18 thousand.

From 2025 to 2027, the state will allocate 246.1 billion rubles to support the radioelectronic industry. Over the past four years, 430.4 billion rubles have been spent on the development of the industry. The peak of state support is in 2024 - 147 billion rubles, but next year the funding will be reduced to 93.9 billion rubles.