Towards a Sustainable Model for Regulating the Domestic Motor Fuels Market

The crisis on the domestic motor fuels market (in the middle of 2018) required the government to take a variety of measures to stabilize the situation. As measures, both regulatory mechanisms (price containment agreements and regulatory volumes of petroleum products supply to the Russian market), and economic incentives (damping premium to reverse excise tax on crude oil, which started from the beginning of 2019, together with the completion of the tax maneuver) were used. Despite the decisions taken, the situation on the domestic market worsened in January–February 2019. The growth of prices at petrol stations and local deficits was avoided only due to the fulfillment of social obligations assumed by oil companies as a part of concluded agreements. The need for active improvements of existing tools and the development of a sustainable system for regulating the domestic motor fuels market has become obvious. The article analyzes the possible mechanisms for stabilizing the Russian fuel market such as “floating” excise taxes, protective duties, and quotas on supplies. The study revealed that only tools that provide economic incentives for the motor fuel market development contribute to stabilizing the situation in the long term. The transition to the “floating” excise tax could be such a solution.