In Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov has instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to work out proposals to postpone new rules for calculating the recycling fee on foreign cars, the RBC news agency reported, citing the official’s office.
Manturov made the announcement after protests were held in Vladivostok and Novosibirsk; they were also planned in other cities.
The new rules were due to come into force on 1 November 2025.
The press service of the Russian official said that the rush demand for the import of foreign cars had affected the load at border checkpoints, queues had formed there, because of which the car delivery period could grow by several weeks.
Manturov’s office said that such a delay could also affect citizens who paid for a car before the announcement of the increase in the recycling fee, so it is necessary to extend the transition period to ensure that existing orders can be completed under the current rules.
In mid-September, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed the introduction of a new progressive scale for calculating the utilisation fee with a link to the engine power of cars. From 1 November, an increasing coefficient will be introduced into the formula for calculating the fee, which is calculated on a progressive scale depending on the engine capacity. The fee will increase for all categories of buyers, including individuals. According to experts, the fee increase will affect half of the cars imported into Russia, and the cost of cars may increase by 800 thousand rubles and more.
On October 11, a rally against the increase in the utilisation fee on cars was held in Vladivostok, which was attended by about half a thousand people. The participants held posters: “to them Mercedes, and to us Zhiguli”, “affordable cars – fair fee” and so on. At the rally they collected signatures under the appeal to the Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with the demand to cancel the new system.
A small picket was held in Novosibirsk, and protests were planned in other cities, mainly in the Far East and Siberia.