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- Drink cleaner: accelerated licensing of alcohol trade will protect consumers from counterfeiting
Drink cleaner: accelerated licensing of alcohol trade will protect consumers from counterfeiting
The State Duma is considering a government bill aimed at optimizing the process of obtaining permits for the sale of alcoholic beverages. According to the proposed changes, the procedure for approving applications for obtaining an alcohol license will now become easier and faster. The initiative is designed to simplify the work of entrepreneurs who want to engage in alcohol retail and make the process of obtaining the necessary permits more expeditious and efficient. The new order is aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses, reducing administrative barriers and combating illegal trade. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Optimization and digitalization: what is changing in licensing
Today, the process of obtaining alcohol licenses is often delayed for months, creating difficulties for small businesses and pushing some entrepreneurs to work in the shadow, gray zone. According to the interviewed officials and experts, the new rules will partially solve the accumulated problems.
"The legal framework in the sphere of alcohol turnover is constantly being improved, including to simplify the work of bona fide market participants," says Elena Diaghileva, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets. — The new initiative is primarily about optimizing processes to help obtain a license faster, ideally in 15 business days instead of 30 calendar days.
Secondly, she continues, when submitting and reviewing a package of documents, some existing kinks will disappear.: The licensing authority will automatically receive a number of supporting documents from other agencies. In fact, the package of documents for a retail outlet or restaurant remains the same, and there will be no need to submit what can be obtained through interdepartmental electronic document management. This is a direct consequence of the country's policy towards digitalization and systematization of government service provision processes, the senator notes.
The bill provides for simplification of the licensing procedure for businesses related to the sale of alcohol: entrepreneurs planning to open a liquor store or catering establishment with the right to sell alcohol will have to provide a significantly smaller package of documents for both retail and catering.
"Reducing the time required to review applications for alcohol licenses is a positive measure, primarily for small businesses," said Pavel Pobedkin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC AGK, the ultimate beneficiary of KLVZ Kristall LLC. — Today, independent convenience stores that are not part of large federal chains are in an extremely vulnerable position: federal players are consistently displacing local retail, and small entrepreneurs are struggling to survive.
According to him, speeding up and simplifying the licensing procedure will allow them to act more actively, without lengthy downtime associated with paperwork.
The draft law reduces the time for reviewing applications for alcohol sales licenses from 30 calendar days (with the possibility of extending the review period by no more than 30 days) to 15 working days (with the possibility of extending the review period by no more than 25 working days).
Assessing the innovations as part of the state strategy for the transition to digital governance and the elimination of bureaucratic barriers, experts point to the reduction of corruption risks.
— The new system of interdepartmental electronic interaction, of course, minimizes corruption risks, eliminating the human factor at the stage of collecting the necessary documents, — says Honored Worker of Trade of the Russian Federation, ex-Senator Olga Epifanova. — The state requests and verifies the necessary data from Rosreestr, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Tax Service and other departments in digital form. A single information field is being created, where the entire chain from the manufacturer to the shelf in the store is visible.
Such transparency, in her opinion, strengthens supervision, making it based on the analysis of accurate data. In addition, transparency is becoming technologically advanced, as every action is recorded in the system, leaving a "digital footprint". In her opinion, this is a powerful tool against corruption in the alcohol trade.
The Federal Service for Control of Alcohol and Tobacco Markets and the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not respond to our publication's inquiries about combating the shadow market of alcohol trade.
Support for small and medium—sized businesses is the key to market legalization
The transition to simplified and fast licensing provides an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to strengthen their position in competition with large federal players who previously had administrative and resource advantages.
"Reducing the time to 15 working days is a rational step that reduces transaction costs primarily for small and medium-sized HoReCa format and specialized retail," emphasizes Alexey Solovyov, President of the Association of Cavists of Russia. — Seasonal venues, wine bars, and hotel projects are opening faster. The risk of "unequal conditions" lies not in the norm itself, but in its implementation: where licensing authorities are organizationally and human resources ready, the effect will be positive; where there is no readiness, large networks with strong legal departments benefit.
But how will changes in the deadlines for reviewing applications affect small and medium-sized businesses in the alcohol sector? Is there a risk that the new rules will create unequal conditions for small and large businesses? Who can benefit or lose from speeding up the process? These questions are asked by the head of Research and consulting at Focus technologies Inc. Mikhail Vasiliev.
"In the current environment, reducing regulatory barriers can play an important role in maintaining the sustainability of the sector," the expert notes. — However, the effect of the reform may be heterogeneous. Major players with well-established legal services and processes have already been licensed without much delay. Therefore, the gain for them will be rather symbolic. Small businesses will gain more freedom and predictability, but at the same time they will face the need to adapt to a new format of control and electronic interaction.
Safety and quality remain a priority.
As part of the reform, the most important point is to maintain quality control and product safety, despite the reduction in paperwork. Experts are confident that digital technologies and legislation will allow not only not to weaken control, but also to increase its effectiveness, strengthening consumer safety.
The package of documents submitted for licensing is not directly related to the quality and safety control of alcoholic beverages, and the negative consequences are minimized, said Anna Iskhakova, Director of External Communications and Government Relations at Tatspirtprom.
Moreover, the licensing authority independently requests the necessary information about the licensee from various authorities and institutions through the SMEV (system of interdepartmental electronic interaction), the expert adds.
Product quality control remains the responsibility of the manufacturer, emphasizes Gennady Oparin, Chairman of the Union of Farmers' Wineries, head of the Semigorye farm.
— The manufacturer is fully responsible for information about his product — where, by whom and when it was produced, from what raw materials it is made. It is the manufacturer who is responsible for the quality of grape wines, wine drinks and spirits," he recalls.
Reducing the package of documents by itself does not reduce the level of control, if in parallel the mechanisms of verification and interdepartmental data exchange are strengthened, Mikhail Vasiliev notes. In fact, the point of the reform is not to abolish control, but to automate it — some checks must now be carried out electronically through the databases of regulatory authorities, he clarifies.
The more transparent the licensing process, the higher the level of control, says Maxim Chernihiv, Associate Professor of the Department of Management at the Presidential Academy in St. Petersburg, head of the Alcohol Market Professionals Club.
— Today, the main threat is not from simplification of procedures, but from the lack of unified digital standards and the lag of a number of regions in automation. If the introduction of interdepartmental interaction is accompanied by constant verification of data through the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and tax services, the level of security and transparency of the market will only increase," the Izvestia interlocutor believes.
Fighting the shadow market: the whole truth as it is
Despite positive expectations, industry experts still do not rule out possible risks associated with the transition to new licensing mechanisms. The main danger remains the emergence of opaque schemes and increased clandestine sales if controls are not properly established.
— If we look at it globally, reducing the costs associated with conducting legal activities should encourage businesses to work in the white," comments the MSU Consumer Market Development Center. — However, it is much more difficult to formally identify illegal alcoholic beverages in licensed retail outlets. As the analysis of the turnover of draft beer shows, retail outlets can operate in gray, simultaneously selling legal and illegal products.
Nevertheless, the system of interdepartmental electronic interaction can help ensure transparency and reduce corruption risks, insists Ekaterina Shveeva, Associate Professor at MGUTU. Although digitalization has a downside — latent ways of exercising the powers of civil servants, she complains. The turnover of counterfeit products damages key sectors of the economy and investment attractiveness.
Fears of an increase in counterfeiting are not fatal, provided that the interdepartmental contour is fully integrated and the regions are evenly digitalized, wine expert Alexey Solovyov believes.
"Simplifying entry with strict follow—up monitoring brings businesses back from the gray zone, reduces incentives to operate without a license, and strengthens market manageability," he is convinced.
However, at the same time, decisions should not be allowed that would endanger business and become an impetus for the growth of the underground alcohol trade, sums up Senator Elena Diaghilev.
"These positive trends need to be consolidated in the future, avoiding decisions that will negatively affect business and become a catalyst for the emergence of underground outlets and bootleggers," the expert emphasizes.
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