Short-term MTPL agreement and state control over disinfection: what laws come into force in Russia in March

Ban on popularizing VPN services

From March 1, a ban on the popularization of means of bypassing blocking in the Russian Federation comes into force.

Roskomnadzor recalled that the use of means of bypassing blocking access to illegal content has been prohibited since February 2020.

“VPN services are such tools if their use does not restrict access to prohibited resources,” the statement says.

Mortgage loans

From March 1, the Bank of Russia will increase premiums on risk ratios for mortgage loans in order to limit the risks of citizens’ debt exposure.

The Central Bank justified this decision by a significant deterioration in standards in mortgage lending.

“Over two years, the share of loans provided to borrowers with a debt burden of more than 80% almost doubled and amounted to 47% in the third quarter of 2023.

Loans for the purchase of housing with a low (up to 20%) down payment reached 50% of all mortgages issued,” the report says.

In this regard, the Bank of Russia decided to increase premiums in order to contribute to improved lending standards and a more balanced mortgage growth rate.

Pension increase

From March 1, all Russians who turned 80 in February will have the right to double the fixed payment in the old-age insurance pension.

The premium will be 8134.9 rubles.

Pension recalculation will be carried out automatically.

Moreover, if a pensioner has already received a disability of the first group, then an increase is not provided for him.

“The additional payment is established only once for one of the reasons: reaching the age of 80 years or receiving the first group of disability,” said Yulia Finogenova, a professor at the Department of State and Municipal Finance of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, in a conversation with the Prime agency.

Farm animal registration

From March 1, marking and recording of farm animals becomes mandatory.

The innovation will strengthen control over the sanitary condition of farm animals and their veterinary well-being.

The Rosselkhoznadzor list includes cattle, horses, donkeys, camels, bees, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, ostriches, deer, fur-bearing animals, rabbits and fish.

Their data must be entered into the Horriot system.

As stated in Rosselkhoznadzor, animal registration will be carried out regardless of the form of ownership: legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, personal subsidiary plots and citizens.

Also on russian.rt.com In the Kirov region, the procedure for registering animals was explained

In addition, accounting will be carried out free of charge - entering data into the system is a free option.

“Marking an animal is the responsibility of the owner; accordingly, marking means are purchased by the owner at his choice.

This could be a plastic tag, a subcutaneous microchip, a bolus, a ring or a collar,” Rosselkhoznadzor emphasized.

State regulation of the tobacco market

On March 1, the law introducing state regulation of the production and circulation of tobacco and nicotine-containing products comes into force.

A license is now required for the production, storage and supply of tobacco and nicotine-containing products and raw materials for their production, as well as for the export and import of such products for sale in duty-free stores.

Along with this, in order to combat counterfeiting, mandatory state registration of certain types of technological equipment for the production of tobacco products, tobacco and nicotine-containing products and raw materials is being introduced.

Short-term MTPL contract

On March 2, a law will come into force that allows you to conclude an MTPL agreement for a period from one day to three months and from three months to a year.

A short-term MTPL agreement will enter into force three days after the insurer provides the documents necessary for its conclusion, unless such agreement establishes a shorter period of entry into force.

“If you need a car only for one or two days or a week, you insure driving it for the same period.

Thus, I am sure that many of those who do not insure themselves today, because it seems to them an expensive pleasure, will now do it more actively,” said the head of the Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, in an interview with the Parliamentary Gazette.

State control over disinfection

Rospotrebnadzor will begin issuing licenses for activities such as disinfection, disinfestation and deratization in order to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population.

The explanatory note to the relevant initiative stated that innovations are needed to ensure the required level of safety for these procedures.

In particular, the authors of the initiative noted that unprofessional disinfection by untrained personnel with improper use of toxic chemicals poses a direct threat to the health and sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population.

In addition, this contributes to the formation of resistant strains of microorganisms, which, in turn, entails an increase in the number of cases of infections and the emergence of risks of outbreaks of infectious diseases.