Bill on Phase 2 of investment quotas submitted to State Duma ‒ VARPE
Additional budget revenues from the auctions for catching aquatic biological resources is estimated at RUB 200 billion
The bill on introduction of amendments into the Federal Law on Fisheries and Conservation of Aquatic Biological Resources has been submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, All-Russia Association of Fishery Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE) says on its official Telegram channel.
According to the explanatory note to the draft law, the Federal Tax Service reports the fishery industry’s tax payments (as of 1 December 2021) due to the effect from Phase 1 of the investment quotas programme totaled RUB 40.7 billion, up 23.3%, year-on-year.
The new phase of investment quota programme will let build about 30 fishing ships, 35 crab catchers, 8 fish processing plants in the Far East, 30 facilities for processing and storing of fish products. Additional budget revenues from the auctions for catching aquatic biological resources is estimated at RUB 200 billion.
In the first phase of the programme, about 80% of total investments (RUB 230 billion) were raised through loans, says the document.
VARPE earlier shared on its official Telegram channel the words of VARPE President German Zverev, who said that “the draft law submitted for consideration despite vast criticism of ad hoc bodies and the professional community is a big mistake”. “We will do everything to convince the State Duma and the Federation Council that the government’s bill is wrong,” he added.
VARPE also told about RF Government’s plan to consider the draft federal law on introduction of amendments into the Federal Law on Fisheries and Conservation of Aquatic Biological Resources. According to VARPE, investment quotas issue was later excluded from the agenda of RF Government’s meeting of July 28. Thus, RF Government had no public discussion of Phase 2 of the programme on investment quotas.
After a period of almost 40 years when Russian shipyards built no fishing ships or crab catchers, the year of 2016 marked the beginning of orders inflow due to transition to the auction based principle of allocating quotas in the fishing industry. The reform foresees that the market players should have their ships built in the Russian Federation to obtain a quota for bioresources.
16 shipyards across the country, from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, are implementing the so called ‘keel quota’ programme. Construction of 52 fishing ships and 38 crab catchers was foreseen by the first phase of the programme (according to the data of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as of December 2021). By the end of 2021, the shipyards delivered 6 fishing and 2 crab catching ships.
Russian Federal Fisheries Agency (Rosrybolovstvo) says 97 ships are being currently built in Russia for the domestic fishery industry (58 fishing ships and 39 crab catchers).
In May 2022, RF Government published the Decree on introduction of amendments into the mechanism of allocating quotas for production of aquatic bioresources to allow extension of the construction period from five to seven years so that to ensure implementation of shipbuilding contracts under the pressure of sanctions.
Related links:
Investment quotas issue excluded from the agenda of RF Government’s meeting of July 28 – VARPE >>>>
RF Government to consider draft law on second phase of investment quotas – VARPE >>>>
Grace time for investment quota projects >>>>
Prospects of investment quotas programme >>>>
