Labeled candles: what will the mandatory labeling of spare parts lead to?
In Russia, it is proposed to introduce mandatory labeling of a number of car parts. Due to this, it is planned to reduce the volume of counterfeit parts, which now account for 46% of the market. The presence of labeling does not always guarantee the quality of the spare part itself, experts say. The details are in the Izvestia article.
Everything will be marked
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia intends to expand the list of goods for which special labeling is required. The draft of the relevant government decree has been published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts. It provides for the phased introduction of mandatory labeling of "certain types of vehicle components, devices with an internal combustion engine and self-propelled vehicles."
We are talking, in particular, about all types of filters, spark plugs, windows, brake discs, brake pads, wheels and rims. The labeling mechanisms for these parts and spare parts have already been tested as part of an experiment that started in February last year, and this winter was extended until the end of summer. According to the draft resolution, mandatory registration in the labeling information system will begin on September 1 this year. At the same time, the start of the mandatory labeling of parts is scheduled for December 1, 2026.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the turnover of auto parts in our country is characterized by a high share of the illegal market, where a large number of low-quality and unsafe products are sold, especially in the passenger car segment. In addition, because of this, the mandatory safety requirements established by technical regulations are not observed, the agency explains.
The "gray" share
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2022-24, the share of illegal turnover of automobile spare parts in the Russian Federation reached 46%.
"The lack of traceability and control over the turnover of certain types of vehicle components leads to the sale of substandard and unsafe products that pose a direct threat to the life and health of citizens when using a vehicle, the presence of counterfeit and falsified products on the market and the loss of the market for domestic manufacturers," the accompanying documents to the draft resolution say.
The authors of the draft resolution note that currently users of "gray schemes" do not pay taxes, duties and lower prices for goods, which hinders healthy competition. Mandatory labeling of spare parts is designed to reduce the turnover of illegal and counterfeit products that may pose a danger to health and life, eliminate such parts from the market and level the playing field for all its participants, according to the developers of the draft resolution.
In the market of goods for which mandatory labeling has already been introduced, there has been a serious decrease in illegal trafficking, the Central Trade Center (Operator of the Honest Sign state labeling system) told Izvestia. For example, the proportion of counterfeit products in perfumes decreased by 82%, in water by 60%, and in tobacco products by 56%. Illegal tire and tire trafficking has halved. And in the dairy industry, the share of counterfeiting decreased from 30% to 0.01%. A similar effect is expected in the segments of motor oils and spare parts, according to the CRPT.
— Labeling allows you to build a complete product traceability chain, from production to the store counter. The state receives an effective tool for point control, without pressure on bona fide companies, business protection from unfair competition, as well as accurate analytics on the movement, production and sale of its products, and consumers have confidence in the authenticity of their purchases," the Honest Sign operator emphasized.
Market statistics reflect the systemic problem of counterfeiting in the auto parts industry, according to Engels Spark Plugs. According to the company, every second Russian consumer has at least once encountered the purchase of such parts.
— Inspections of offline points of sale revealed a catastrophic quality assurance situation. In 80% of cases, there was no certificate for the product, in another 19% the sellers refused to present it, and only in 1% of cases the document was provided. The main distribution channels for counterfeit products were auto parts markets (25%) and specialty stores (23%). The pilot experiment allows testing the application of labeling codes on various types of packaging in advance, as well as testing business processes for working with the system, the company's press service told Izvestia.
What is considered a counterfeit
In general, the expansion of the list of automotive products that will be marked with special markings should improve the situation with counterfeit spare parts, said Igor Morzharetto, a member of the Presidium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. However, it is necessary to approach this process carefully and carefully, he emphasizes.
— There is nothing wrong with the fact that certain parts will be labeled, especially if we are talking about large and expensive parts, in the price of which the inevitable labeling costs of manufacturers are minimal. However, it's probably not worth marking every spring or cog in a car," Igor Morzharetto believes.
Taking into account what is meant by the very concept of "counterfeit", the presence of markings on a particular part will not always be a guarantee of the quality of the spare part, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine.
The main purpose of the proposed labeling is to control the movement of the part, including the payment of duties, taxes and fees, he notes. This is a logical measure, since it partially "whitewashes" the spare parts market and puts all its players on an equal footing, the expert emphasizes. But when it comes to labeling spare parts, counterfeit primarily means goods imported in violation of established norms and requirements, but this does not mean that they are fake, the expert believes.
— In the context of labeling, counterfeit is considered something not very legal in terms of its traceability, taxes and duties, but forgery is still something else. Therefore, a fake imported according to all the rules can be marked, and a high-quality product imported using certain schemes and loopholes will be unlabeled. Thus, from the point of view of quality, a mediocre but labeled part will be considered legal, but a high—quality contraband spare part will not," explained Maxim Kadakov.
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