OREANDA-NEWS. January 24, 2011. The bill intended for support of domestic shipping and shipbuilding industry today was approved by the Government Committee for legislative activities, Victor Olersky, Deputy Minister of Transport said on Monday in an interview with journalists in St. Petersburg. Now the document will be considered at a meeting of the Russian Government and introduced before the Russian State Duma.

According to Mr. Olersky, the bill has been endorsed by almost all relevant ministries. There are some differences only with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development over premium rates paid by shipbuilding companies for their employees.

"I think we should find a compromise between the minimum zero-rated premiums and a maximum of 34%. Probably, all would be satisfied with compromised 14-20%. In any case, the decision on this point of the bill will be for the Prime Minister," the official said.

The bill was prepared by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade in conjunction with JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). The bill, in particular, provides for the reduction of operating costs of shipowners whose vessels will operate under the Russian flag, through reducing taxes. In addition, the bill includes establishment of specialized shipbuilding areas with preferential tax treatment. Shipyards that fall under the new law, will receive exemptions on customs duties on import of foreign equipment, which has no analogues in Russia (duty is 10%), a zero rate of VAT on new vessels (18%) and a number of other benefits. It is assumed that the law will be applied to the vessels built from January 1st, 2010 at Russian shipyards and sailing under Russian flag.