Russian Parliament To Discuss Tobacco Industry Regulation Plan
Article by [Leona Zhu]; Edited by [Rui Tian]-The Federation Council of Russia will discuss a comprehensive tobacco industry regulatory plan, including criminal responsibility for unlicensed production and sale of tobacco products and administrative punishment similar to alcohol regulations, in an effort to reduce illegal trade in nicotine-containing products.
According to a news report on March 9, the upper house of the Russian Federal Parliament will discuss the tobacco industry regulatory bill and related amendments on Thursday's meeting.
The proposed measures aim to reduce the illegal production and sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products.
The comprehensive regulatory bill was submitted to the government by the Ministry of Finance in July 2022, which includes:
• Establishing a dedicated regulatory department to supervise the production and distribution of tobacco products and raw materials under national supervision within a legal framework, similar to the national alcohol market regulation model. The Ministry of Finance emphasized that different regulatory agencies and federal laws in the tobacco industry have resulted in a lack of coordination in law enforcement, leading to rampant illegal markets.
•The document concerns the production and import licenses for tobacco but not the retail licenses. This provision will eliminate the risk of "excessive administration for small and medium-sized enterprises and increase the financial burden on regional governments of the Russian Federation."
• Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation have been made to provide criminal liability for the unlicensed production and sale of tobacco products, and amendments to the Administrative Law of the Russian Federation have been made to provide administrative measures for illegal actions in the tobacco industry, which will be similar to alcohol management standards.
Once the comprehensive regulatory plan is approved by the Federation Council, it will be submitted to the State Duma.
Reference:
【1】Кабмин обсудит пакет законопроектов о табачном регулировании по аналогии с рынком алкоголя.
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