In Brief: Privatization; Vodka duties to increase?; Verdict on Vistula board

Later today Treasury Minister Piotr Czyżewski is to decide on the privatization of large state-owned companies which have been dragging on for years. This will include choosing an investor for Polish Steel Mills and the future of oil concern Grupa Lotos. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) ... A few weeks ago the Chamber of Spirits Producers (KRPS) sent a letter to the Finance Ministry with a request to further lower the excise duty on vodka. "The government was working on the draft bill on excise duty, which would adapt Polish regulations to EU ones. According to the draft, the excise duty would increase to zł. 6,300 per hectoliter from the present zł. 4,400. However, the minimum EU rate is zł. 2,500 per hectoliter," said the deputy president of KRPS Henryk Tomasik. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 3) ... A Kraków local court overruled the decision of the district and regional court of April 22, 2003, which signed into the company register the supervisory and management boards of Vistula, which were supported by its Dutch shareholders. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) M.M.