Russian State Duma Supports Bill on Digital Taxation for Tobacco Products

According to a report by Interfax.ru on January 22nd, the budget committee of the Russian State Duma has endorsed a bill that aims to amend tax laws and regulate the procedures for levying consumption taxes and their management on tobacco and nicotine-containing products after the transition to digital labeling. The bill, named 512729-8, was submitted to the parliament by the government and is expected to be reviewed by December 2023.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Alexey Sazanov, stated during a committee meeting that the reason for drafting this bill is the impending changes in labeling requirements for tobacco and nicotine-containing products, which will take effect from March 1, 2024. "We will abandon the use of paper labels and instead switch to digital labeling," he said.

This bill establishes the procedures for collecting the consumption tax and outlines the sequence for managing the consumption tax after transitioning to digital tags. It introduces the term "calculative control special label," which is essentially the barcode that will be affixed to packaging.

He pointed out, "Certain requirements regarding control are being clarified - the tax base cannot be less than the corresponding output recorded in the national information system, whether it is tobacco or nicotine-containing products.

Politicians express concern over the presentation of numeric labels on tobacco products. The Deputy Minister of Finance assures, "Physical consumption tax labels will be replaced by barcodes, similar to those on packaging for medicines and dairy products, featuring an identification count symbol.