Azerbaijan now has a tax exemption for road transportation, which is supposed to help boost intermodal rail freight. The measure went into effect on 1 January and will remain in force for a period of two years.
More specifically, the road tax exemption applies in two situations according to the Azerbaijani national rail operator ADY. Firstly, no road tax will be imposed when rail freight is transshipped onto motor vehicles at the last possible facility before leaving the country, and then passes through the nearest border checkpoint.
Similarly, when goods are coming into the country via road and are then loaded onto the rail at the first possible railway station from the nearest border checkpoint, no road tax will be applied either.
Competitiveness with other corridors
“The mentioned exemptions will lead to the development of international transport corridors passing through the country and ensuring their competitiveness with alternative corridors”, writes ADY.
“These tax breaks will have a positive impact on the development of trade relations by stimulating the integration between foreign road transport and rail transport, will help ensure faster and more efficient transportation in the transport sector, and will strengthen international trade and transport relations.”
Most likely, the measure was put into place to boost volumes along the International North – South Transport Corridor, which connects Russia and Iran via Azerbaijan. For the time being, there is no direct rail connection between Azerbaijan and Iran, and so transshipment from rail to road (or vice versa, depending on the direction of traffic) is a necessity. A road tax exemption could reduce costs for shippers along the corridor.