Russian coal cos drafting financial recovery plans, further tax deferrals not planned - dep minister
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - Russian coal companies are drafting financial recovery programs, which the Energy Ministry will submit to the Federal Tax Service by the end of April 2026 for a decision to defer mineral extraction tax and insurance premiums payments, Deputy Energy Minister Dmitry Islamov told reporters.
"Companies are drafting financial recovery programs, approving them, coordinating them with their coal-mining regions and sending them to the Energy Ministry. This must be done literally within two weeks," Islamov said.
He said each coal company would have a financial recovery program that should guarantee the return of deferred payments.
"We'll look at how they reduce costs, what efficiency measures they are taking, and what contributions beneficiaries or owners are making in the way of loans or the requirement to waive dividends," he said.
Islamov said 138 companies, representing approximately 90% of all coal production, had already received payment deferrals. Companies can also stagger payments if they draft and approve programs.
No further extension of the deferral for mineral extraction tax and insurance premium payments is planned, Islamov said.
"If a company sees that this measure won't help, and it's unable to cope, and sees no prospects for repaying deferred payments, then there's only one option: to promptly draft documents and submit them to a Finance Ministry sub-commission," he said.
The sub-commission considers individual support measures for coal companies. "To date, the sub-commission has looked at applications from 11 coal industry organizations, comprising 45 enterprises. Another 19 organizations, comprising 25 enterprises, are being prepared for review. This represents a more substantial deferment and installment plan, over a longer period, and assistance with debt restructuring," Islamov said.
As for the overall situation in the industry, the Energy Ministry has not yet seen a systemic change in market prices. In anything, rising oil prices due to the situation in the Middle East have led to higher freight costs, Islamov said.
"We analyzed what would happen if the exchange rate, key rate and remained at the Q4 2025 level. We came up with a stress scenario. The stress scenario showed a loss of 576 billion rubles [consolidated net loss of Russian coal companies in 2026]. This suggests that the crisis in the sector is ongoing. A systemic change in the situation will begin in late 2026 or 2027," Islamov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the government to monitor the coal industry situation and, if necessary, implement state support measures to make them more cost-effective and competitive at the Russian Energy Week in October.
The Russian government in December extended the deferral of mineral extraction tax and insurance premium payments for coal companies, approved in May 2025, until February 28, 2026. Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said at the end of February that the measures would be extended further. "We are now already discussing which measures we will take next year, because we believe that support for the coal industry should continue," Tsivilev said.
In 2026, the Finance Ministry proposed granting coal companies an installment plan until the end of the year for the payment of MET and insurance contributions previously deferred until February 2026. The installment plan will be provided from March to December 2026 inclusive, subject to payments being made in equal installments during this period.
The Russian government has now extended the deferment for coal companies on the payment of mineral extraction tax and insurance contributions until April 30, 2026 inclusive. Companies will be able to repay their debts in equal installments monthly from May to the end of November 2026, the statement said.
According to Rosstat data, the net loss of Russian coal companies amounted to 408 billion rubles in 2025 compared to a loss of 112.6 billion rubles a year earlier.
