Prime Minister of Kazakhstan instructs to raise excise taxes on alcoholic beverages

ASTANA. November 5. KAZINFORM - Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov at a meeting of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has instructed to raise the excise tax on alcoholic beverages.

"On the threshold there is already the new 2014. The Russian Federation and Belarus - our allies in the Customs Union - have excise taxes three times higher. There is no market access to our domestic producers of alcoholic beverages. There have been no adequate measures taken by the Ministry of Finance. No one is saying that we need to immediately put a barrier. We have no customs borders. But, nevertheless, there are the rules, and we have got the amendments to the Law on turnover of alcohol products, and they provide for these measures (edit. raising excise taxes). First of all, we need to raise the excise tax, and secondly, we have to establish a clear understandable turnover of alcohol products, including production", said Akhmetov.

The Prime Minister instructed the head of Finance Ministry Zhamishev to address the issue.