MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. The financial resilience subcommittee headed by Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov is considering an opportunity for the targeted support of seventeen coal sector businesses, Deputy Energy Minister Anton Islamov said at the meeting of the energy commission of the State Council, the Russian Energy Ministry informed.
"The majority of businesses in the ‘red zone’ also send documents for the review. The subcommittee has the authority to extend more serious support measures. For example, a deferral on taxes and insurance contributions for a longer period of time and loan debts restructuring," the official said.
Coal sector plants may also be granted targeted subsidies aimed at reducing logistical costs, Islamov noted.
Furthermore, the deferral for taxes and insurance contributions for coal companies effective from June 1 to December 1 of this year can be renewed in case the situation does not improve. "Coal sector companies will be provided with the deferral for taxes and insurance contributions from June 1 to December 1 of this year. We will keep an eye on the situation. If the situation does not improve, the decision to extend this deferral may be taken for individual companies and at large," Islamov said.
The Energy Ministry continues monitoring the situation in the coal industry. "We will summarize again after the end of the second quarter. We will assess the extent of efficiency of measures taken, what effect they provided. If the situation does not improve, we will then return to additional support measures being needed of the general systemic nature and targeted ones," he stressed.
A huge effort is currently underway to restructure loan debts of coal businesses, the official noted. "The Central Bank of the Russian Federation posted a special letter on its website, which pertains to loans restructuring. Requirements will be temporarily lowered in accordance with this letter to provisions for restructured loans of borrowers, including in the coal industry," Islamov added.