On Tuesday, June 21, the State Duma of Russia approved the law on the legalization of parallel imports.

The document was published on the website of the lower house of parliament.

“The bill was developed to protect the Russian economy and citizens in the face of economic sanctions against our country.

Its adoption will simplify the trade in goods from the list of parallel imports and will help stabilize their prices,” said State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin.

Recall that the Russian government decided to legalize parallel imports at the end of March against the backdrop of Western sanctions.

We are talking about importing original foreign products into the country without the consent of the copyright holders.

As explained in the Cabinet, in the face of external restrictions, such a measure will help to provide the domestic market with demanded goods.

Now, Volodin explained, it is proposed to supplement this rule with the fact that the use of the results of intellectual activity, expressed in goods, and the means of individualization with which products are marked, is not a violation.

Thus, the law will protect Russian companies that import goods without the permission of the copyright holder from possible civil, criminal and administrative liability, the speaker of the lower house of parliament emphasized.

“The purpose of this mechanism is to satisfy the demand for goods containing the results of intellectual activity.

Until now, they could not be sold on the territory of our country without the permission of the copyright holder ... The approach will make it possible to guarantee the supply of goods to our country, including despite the unfriendly actions of foreign politicians, ”said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

In early May, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved the list of goods allowed for parallel imports into the country.

The approved list includes 56 product groups.

We are talking, for example, about cosmetics, perfumes, clothing, building materials, electronics, equipment, spare parts and cars.

Since the approval of the list, goods worth a total of almost 2 billion rubles have already been imported to Russia for parallel imports, as the head of the Federal Customs Service, Vladimir Bulavin, said earlier in an interview with RT.

Later, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, said that the products were delivered in 130 positions.

“Mainly spare parts for cars, consumer products that go to stores, including critical imports, are those components, spare parts, materials that our foreign colleagues refused to supply directly,” RIA Novosti quotes Manturov.

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Since the beginning of spring, international companies have continued to announce their withdrawal from Russia against the backdrop of Western sanctions.

Meanwhile, the products of foreign brands that have left the country are actively sold on Russian marketplaces, online stores and traditional retail outlets.

As Artyom Sokolov, president of the Association of Internet Trade Companies, told RT, some of the positions presented include batches of products bought out before the departure of foreign brands and product balances.

However, according to the expert, today more and more often you can see on sale goods imported through parallel imports and processed in a simplified manner.

“Slightly more than 30% of such goods are electronics and household appliances, about a fifth are clothing and cosmetics, and the rest is distributed among other categories.

Moreover, today not only the largest retailers represent goods of parallel import.

Now this niche is being actively explored by small businesses and very small online stores that specialize in some product category, such as electronics,” Sokolov added.

Issue price

One of the key difficulties in establishing parallel imports is the lack of the usual branded support for the supplied goods.

This opinion was shared with RT by the chief economist of the TeleTrade information and analytical center Mark Goykhman.

“It will be more difficult to provide adequate warranty, repair and replacement of these products from the manufacturer.

In addition, there is another danger - the possible replacement of the original product with counterfeit goods at some stage of delivery, ”the specialist noted.

In turn, the price of such products often greatly exceeds the cost of goods imported by traditional imports.

In many respects, this state of affairs is connected with the mark-up of intermediaries, Goykhman explained.

“Importers will have to import goods through other countries in which there are no sanctions or other obstacles to the purchase of these products.

For example, Turkey, China, Middle Eastern countries - Iran, the United Arab Emirates, as well as the CIS states - Kazakhstan, Armenia or Uzbekistan can be used for such purposes, ”the analyst added.

A similar point of view is shared by Artyom Sokolov.

Logistics has become much more expensive, he said, as the supply chain has lengthened significantly, and a direct route by plane or through express delivery services is now impossible.

“In addition, the complexity of mutual settlements also affects - the commissions for money transfers have become much higher.

Nevertheless, parallel imports still fulfill their main task - the product range is preserved, ”Sokolov emphasized.

Workaround

In addition to maintaining a wide choice of goods for consumers, parallel imports play an important role for Russian industry in the face of Western sanctions.

This was told to RT by the head of the analytical department of AMarkets Artyom Deev.

“Parallel imports can replace critical areas for the Russian economy.

After all, many industries work on foreign equipment, raw materials and components,” the expert explained.

Thus, the legalization of parallel imports will make it possible to ensure both industrial and consumer demand at once.

Moreover, filling the market with goods will increase competition, which ultimately may limit price growth, Mark Goykhman believes.

“The sale of these goods also creates jobs in various sectors.

This is not only production and trade, but also related industries: transportation, warehousing, lending and insurance.

All this brings taxes to the economy, budget revenues and employees, which contributes to the overall growth of business and consumer activity and GDP, ”the specialist is sure.

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It is curious that in the current conditions, foreign manufacturers of original products themselves may be interested in supplying their goods to Russia through parallel imports.

So, even against the background of pressure from the Western authorities, foreign business receives an additional sales channel.

“Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that many of those who left the Russian market as a result of sanctions will not be against unofficial deliveries.

This will allow both to save face from a political point of view, and to carry out additional sales, moreover, without incurring responsibility and expenses for guarantees, maintenance of their goods, ”Goykhman explained.

Trading congestion

According to experts interviewed by RT, one of the most difficult areas for parallel imports is still the supply of foreign cars.

First of all, this is hindered by serious legislative restrictions, experts say.

“You can register a new car only if certain procedures are followed.

If a batch of new cars is imported or produced in Russia, there must be a vehicle type approval certificate (OTTS), which the car manufacturer or, on his behalf, the car importer receives in Russia.

This is a whole procedure, it is complicated and costs money, ”Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of the Za Rulem magazine, told RT.

According to him, OTTS is issued not just for an individual car, but also for each type of engine and a specific place of production.  

“When you import a car for which, in principle, there is no certificate, then you simply do not register it.

But even if there is an OTTS, it has a certain period of validity, not very long.

And now, automakers that have temporarily left the market will simply not renew the OTTS,” Kadakov added.

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Against this background, it will not be possible to quickly establish parallel imports of new cars, the expert believes.

In his opinion, then it is necessary to change the whole approach and register any transport in general.

“However, there is a technical regulation of the Customs Union, which is higher than national legislation.

There are our laws and by-laws regarding traffic and insurance.

All these documents are interconnected.

A car is not an electric kettle.

It is impossible to change everything like this, at the snap of a finger.

It will be just an orgy then.

I do not think that in the near future something will fundamentally change, ”the specialist concluded.