Oil Traders Association of Kyrgyzstan asks to open access to the market of petroleum products of Kazakhstan, executive director of the association Ulan Kulov announced at the meeting on the problems of the fuel market.
According to him, no one has exact data on smuggling.
“We can judge by reduction of imports by 90,000 tons. The budget has lost 435 million soms. The problem arose in 2015. We have repeatedly appealed to the government, which adopted a resolution to prevent smuggling. However, the volume of illegal delivery has not decreased. The main reason is the difference in price for petroleum products in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has lower excise taxes and transportation tariffs. Devaluation of tenge, which occurred simultaneously with the entry of Kyrgyzstan into EEU, has also played a special role there. We propose to reduce the excise tax and to open access to the market of Kazakhstan. Official oil traders cannot buy fuel there and it is used by illegal suppliers”, Ulan Kulov said.
It should be noted that the day before the Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov held a meeting on combating undeclared importation of consumer goods, particularly fuel. The head of the State Service for Combating Economic Crimes Aibek Kadyraliyev noted that alone we could stop the smuggling of fuel.
The Prime Minister admitted that the existing legal framework for the fight against undeclared importation of petroleum products would not bring results unless the republic abandons the “dark schemes”. (24.kg/Business World Magazine)
