Environmental payments have existed in Russia for a long time. As they are mandatory deductions for the negative impact on nature. Many entities view them as environmental taxes. However, such a determination is considered erroneous. The legislation does not provide for environmental taxes. These deductions are not regulated by the Tax Code. The manner in which they are levied is established by government decrees. Let us consider in more detail what environmental charges exist. 
General information
Federal law establishes the obligation of users to make mandatory deductions for environmental pollution. There are two types of them. The first is environmental tax. It is considered the main charge. In addition to it, the legislation establishes a recycling fee. To ensure compliance with waste management standards, a Unified State System for their Accounting has been formed. According to Art. 24.2 p. 7 of Federal Law No. 89, if importers and manufacturers of products do not provide for the independent management of waste, they are required to deduct the environmental tax.
Important point
It should be noted that under paragraphs 3 and 4 of Art. 24.5 Federal Law No. 89, the environmental tax for products in packaging that are not ready-to-use products is charged solely for the packaging itself. For goods subject to disposal and export outside the Russian Federation, no deductions have been established. 
Calculation of environmental tax
Accrual rules are defined in Art. 24.5 p. 6 of Federal Law No. 89. In accordance with the provisions of the norm, the determination of the amount of deduction is carried out by multiplying the environmental duty rate by the weight of the finished product or by the number of units of goods that are to be destroyed, put into circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation, or by the mass of packaging used in the manufacture , and on the standard for disposal. The latter is expressed in relative units.
Rate
The rate is formed in accordance with the average amount of expenses for the collection, transportation, processing and disposal of a unit of a product or its mass that has lost consumer qualities. The tariff may also include the specific cost of creating infrastructure facilities where such products are destroyed. The collection rates for each product group to be disposed of after loss of consumer qualities are determined by the Government. 
General collection procedure
It is defined in paragraphs 8 and 9 of Art. 24.5 Federal Law No. 89. The norms note that the rules for collecting fees are established by the Government. He also determines the procedure for calculating, offsetting, collecting, returning excessively deducted amounts. Control over the correctness of calculation, completeness and timeliness of payment is carried out by the executive federal body authorized by the Government. Rosprirodnadzor acts as it. Payers of the environmental tax carry out its calculation on their own. The deduction is made in rubles by separate payment securities at the corresponding KBK. The funds go to the account of the Federal Treasury unit.
Reporting periods
In accordance with the project adopted by the Government, documentation on environmental collection should be provided to the territorial division of Rosprirodnadzor in time:
- In 2015 - until October 15 (for 9 months);
- In 2016 - until February 1 (for October, November and December 2015);
- Since 2017- every year until April 15 of the period that follows the reporting period.
Submission of documents
Papers to be provided by the subject of the environmental tax:
- Accrual form.
- Copies of payment documents.
The obligated person may entrust the provision of documentation to his representative. In this case, you must attach a copy of the paper certifying the relevant authority.
Supervisory action
The territorial subdivision of the authorized executive body, within one month after the filing of the environmental duty by the subject, submits the documents, verifies the correctness of its accrual and its receipt by the relevant KBK to the account of the structure of the Federal Treasury. The act on the implementation of the standards for disposal is marked on the amount received. After that, the subject is issued a receipt order. The procedure for filling it out and making amendments to it is established by Rosprirodnadzor. In the case of the submission to the territorial unit of documentation confirming the existence of grounds for exemption from deduction, verification is also carried out throughout the month. After it, an appropriate mark is put on the act. 
Refund of excessively deducted amounts
If the payment of the subject has exceeded the established amount, the difference can be counted towards other periods. A similar rule applies if a person deducted the amount by mistake. An excessively paid fee at the request of the subject may be returned to him. A person may exercise this right within three years from the date of transfer. The general period during which the authorized body considers the written application and makes a decision on it cannot be more than 30 days (calendar).
A special case
Importers or manufacturers who have committed themselves to the disposal of waste, but have not been able to reach the established standards, must deduct the environmental fee. In this case, it is charged by multiplying the tariff by the difference between the provided and sold indicator, by the weight of finished products to be destroyed, or by the tare weight used in the production, and by the indicator not received, which is expressed in relative units. 
Direction of spending
According to Art. 24.5 p. 10 Federal Law No. 89, the amounts received from entities for environmental pollution are planned to be spent on implementing state programs in the form of subsidies to regions for co-financing projects in the field of waste management. Funds will also be spent on the construction of facilities where they should be processed, disposed of and rendered harmless. But the key area will be the destruction of packages and goods that have not been eliminated by importers and manufacturers who paid the environmental tax.
Additionally
The project governing the setting of rates on environmental fees deducted by importers, manufacturers of goods that are to be disposed of after they lose their consumer qualities, provides information on the collection of amounts in other countries of Asia and Europe, including the states of the former Soviet Union. In particular, specific sizes, tariffs, terms, etc. are additionally agreed.
Expert Ratings
The explanatory note to the project contains economic justifications for establishing an environmental payment in Russia. According to expert estimates, the costs required for the disposal of the waste of nine categories of goods listed in the project amount to approximately 1.8 trillion rubles annually. These data were obtained as a result of processing the statistics for 2013. At the same time, with the existing environmental tax rates, it is expected that the revenues to the federal budget will amount to no more than 45 billion rubles. in year.As a result, it turns out that the state does not receive profit from the established deductions. The environmental tax only partially compensates for the costs of disposal of products. 
Effects
A significant increase in the cost of the product categories indicated in the Project is expected. The funds received are intended to be used to compensate the costs of importers and manufacturers for the deduction of environmental fees. At the same time, the developers of this entire scheme hope that these entities will eventually be able to independently organize infrastructure facilities where goods will be processed. Thus, importers and manufacturers will be able to relieve themselves of the obligation to deduct the environmental tax. The developers of the system suggest that every year its total amount will decrease as a whole throughout the country. In addition, other positive consequences of the introduction of a scheme for levying an environmental fee are also provided. In particular, the development of the market for recycled materials is forecasted. Equally important is the proposed saving of land and other natural resources, the creation of new jobs in enterprises for the processing and disposal of waste.
Conclusion
The established environmental tax currently does not allow to achieve the goals that were set by the developers of the collection system. However, the Government continues to work actively in this direction. As part of the state’s environmental development program, approved for the period until 2030, various measures are envisaged to improve the current situation. Difficulties in the implementation of projects are caused by a lack of funding. However, it is assumed that in the near future the scheme will operate stably and constantly, contributing to the continuous flow of funds to the federal budget. Subsequently, they will be redistributed to the regions to maintain environmental programs approved in each subject. The funds will also be used to co-finance the creation of infrastructure facilities, which will be used for the processing, destruction and disposal of waste. The activity of private investors, importers and manufacturers of products will also be of great importance.
