Payments for subsoil use should be organically integrated into the system of granting subsoil use rights. In turn, the legislation of the Russian Federation has not yet determined the nature and basis of such payments. The main payment that, logically, should be made for the extracted minerals is a tax payment – the mineral extraction tax (MET). Thus, the next line of reasoning inevitably becomes the assertion that the subsoil user also acquires the extracted minerals free of charge, since the mineral extraction tax is not payment for them. Based on an analysis of legal provisions, the article explains the reasons for the tension that has arisen and provides options for necessary solutions that allow the existing contradiction to be resolved.