Russian State Duma proposes new fines for tobacco industry

According to the Parliamentary Gazette on October 29th, the Russian State Duma has recently introduced a new bill proposing new fines for manufacturers and sellers of tobacco and nicotine-containing products. One of the initiators of the proposal, Deputy Chairman of the Economic Policy Committee Artem Kiryanov, stated that the bill aims to address the lack of regulation on unauthorized activities in the industry.

These violations include missing registration documents for technical equipment, failure to submit information related to product identification as required, and other requirements mentioned in the national regulations on the production and distribution of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, involving aspects such as product circulation, storage, raw materials, and supply. According to the proposal, individual entrepreneurs will face fines ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles ($205-$307), while legal entities will face fines between 100,000 and 150,000 rubles ($1,025-$1,538), and products, equipment, raw materials, and semi-finished products will be confiscated.

The chairman emphasized that a previously passed important basic law has provided a detailed description of all stages of the tobacco and nicotine-containing products industry, including production and raw material processing. He pointed out that there is a need for more detailed regulations on non-permit class violations and the introduction of appropriate administrative penalties. He mentioned that despite legal means such as the Criminal Code, there are still some violations that need to be addressed through administrative measures. Kilyanov revealed that illegal tobacco trading causes the national budget to lose about 100 billion rubles (1 billion USD) annually. He stated that the purpose of this law is to fill the existing gaps in the current legal framework through these measures, in order to further reduce and eliminate illegal trade activities.