The government may increase the range of wholesale prices by 15% for gasoline and 25% for diesel

The Ministry of Finance is studying the expansion of the range of wholesale fuel prices, which preserves the right of oil companies to receive damping payments. According to Izvestia, regulators are discussing the possibility of allowing oil companies to deviate from the indicative price by 15% and 25% for gasoline and diesel fuel, respectively. This will help to reduce the risks of producers from seasonal fluctuations in demand.

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The press service of the Ministry of Energy told Izvestia that "such agreements are underway."

"The possibility of revising the current ranges is being discussed, taking into account the decisions taken to change the tax system," the department explained.

Earlier, Alexey Sazanov, State Secretary and Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, said that the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and oil companies were studying expanding the permitted range of wholesale fuel prices, which retained the right to a damper, and the issue was at the stage of agreeing on acceptable parameters for all parties.

Despite the fact that the Ministry of Finance does not see any prerequisites for an increase in motor fuel prices above inflation, Izvestia's interlocutors remind that last year Russia adopted a law on an additional increase in the rates of a number of excise taxes for 2025-2027, including on motor fuel. The increase in excise taxes averaged 15%. At the same time, the excise tax in the damper calculation formula is frozen at the level of last year, which leads to a decrease in the amount of payments to oil companies.

The damping mechanism was created in 20028, and introduced in January 2019 to curb domestic fuel prices. If the export price of gasoline and diesel fuel is higher than the nominal domestic price, the government compensates companies for part of this difference so that they do not raise prices in the Russian Federation, and vice versa. The damper is paid only if the average wholesale fuel price for the month has not increased more than the indicative (conditional domestic) 10% for gasoline and 20% for diesel fuel. The indicative price in 2025 is 60,450 rubles per ton for gasoline and 57,200 rubles for diesel fuel.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Boost Game: Oil Workers can get Dampening Relief