GRAHAM WARWICK/GENEVA & TOM ZAITSEV/MOSCOW
Russia plans to reduce taxes on imported business jets by gradually eliminating high customs duties, as the country becomes a major market for Western aircraft. But 18% VAT on imported jets will stay.
Manufacturers attending last week’s European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva said Russia accounts for an increasing number of sales, particularly in the booming energy sector. Bombardier has sold 55 business jets into Russia in the last 27 months – 30 of them in the past year, says Bob Horner, executive vice-president of sales for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.
Russian buyers are particularly interested in large-cabin aircraft, and are the European launch customers for the Challenger 850 and 870 corporate versions of Bombardier’s CRJ200 and CRJ700 regional jets. Embraer has six Legacy large business jets flying in Russia, with four more expected this year, and says there is already interest in its new Lineage 1000 ultra-large business jet version of the E-190 regional jet. Operators Comlux and PrivatAir report rising demand for charter in Russia, and NetJets Europe says there is growing interest in Russia and Ukraine in fractional ownership.
“In 2005, the number of these aircraft in Russia has exceeded 100 and continues to grow,” says Moscow’s economic development and trade ministry, adding that almost all of them are registered abroad to bypass high import taxes. “This puts constraints on operating them within the country and impels users and/or owners to devise dubious legal schemes. We want to straighten all this out.”
Customs duties will be halved to 10% within a month and removed over the next six months.
Source: Flight International
