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- They caught up with the pair: 200 fake shoe factories were discovered around the Sadovod market
They caught up with the pair: 200 fake shoe factories were discovered around the Sadovod market
According to the documents, half of the shoe manufacturers in Moscow are located near the Sadovod market. It was there that 200 of the 450 shoe factories registered in the city were discovered. Only in reality they do not exist, said Anton Alikhanov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This became clear during the inspections, which were carried out on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers. We are talking about pseudo shoe manufacturers who supply their products illegally. They can account for up to 40% of the volume of these products in the Russian Federation.
How many shoe manufacturing enterprises are there in Moscow?
Anton Alikhanov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that "on paper" Moscow is the main shoe manufacturer in the country, with more than 200 factories in the city registered around the Sadovod market. In total, 450 enterprises "operate" in the metropolis. This was found out during the inspections that were carried out on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers.
"We are currently conducting an experiment approved at the government level, which checks the availability of production from light industry enterprises, manufacturers of shoes, perfumes and other goods, with a total of five groups," he explained. — What did the first results show? We have already analyzed them: it turned out that there are a large number of companies operating in Russia that claim to be manufacturers, but in fact, they are probably illegally or semi-legally importing goods into our country. Here they register a legal entity with the profile "production", but in reality there are no factories.
The experiment showed that the authorities have the computing power to assess the company's risk profile, and the next step on this path may be a return to state control, the minister explained. He noted that in the future, this approach could be extended to all goods in order to prevent the possibility of sales to unscrupulous importers. According to the ministry, the share of sales of their products in the country may account for up to 40% of the market.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade clarified to Izvestia that from December 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025, an experiment is being conducted to "monitor manufacturers" using the capacities of the state labeling system.
— Its purpose is to identify companies that declare production on the territory of the Russian Federation, but do not actually carry it out. And then blocking such companies in the system and stopping the possibility of ordering codes for their products," the ministry explained. — Preliminary data confirm the effectiveness of this approach. According to the results of remote analysis and field visits to 83 Russian companies with signs of violations, especially in the metropolitan region, in 91% of cases, vacant lots, residential buildings, and abandoned buildings were found at the addresses where production was allegedly located.
It is highly likely that such companies tried to "legalize" products that do not comply with the declared documents, the department said. In some cases, there is reason to believe that these are imports that are processed with violations as products of Russian origin in order to avoid customs duties and regulatory control, "the results of identifying such companies are proof that the labeling system is working," they said.
Izvestia has requested a comment from Rospotrebnadzor.
What threatens pseudo-producers
A total of 2.8 thousand shoe manufacturers are currently registered in Russia. As the Russian Union of Tanners and Shoe Manufacturers reminded Izvestia, the authorities did not provide criteria by which companies can be classified as Russian manufacturers.
The identified companies without their own production create unequal conditions in the market, domestic manufacturers are unable to compete with shoes that were illegally imported without paying duties and taxes, the union stressed. It also carries a huge risk for customers: products may be unsafe and may not meet the requirements of technical regulations.
As Izvestia wrote, the total sales of shoes in the Russian Federation annually amount to about 550-580 million pairs, domestic enterprises account for up to 120 million, the rest is imports (up to 340 million). In total, about 120 million pairs on the market are estimated by experts to be counterfeit and illegal. They do not pay import duties, as well as VAT, because they enter the Russian Federation through the EAEU countries, one of the market participants explained. Russian legal enterprises are losing the market, it already consists of 80% imported shoes, against this background, the production of domestic products is slowing down. If the share of domestic producers accounted for 25% in 2020, now it has decreased to 15-18%.
Oleg Pavlov, the head of the Public Consumer Initiative, said that unscrupulous entrepreneurs go to any lengths to try to make the import of illegal shoes official and then sell them to consumers.
"However, thanks to the development and integration of various state information systems, the identification of such violators is significantly simplified," he noted. — The authorities are currently implementing a pilot project to identify fake manufacturers of light industry products, through which attempts are being made to legalize smuggling from China and Kazakhstan. In the absence of actual production and inventory, all identification codes issued to such enterprises will be blocked, which will not allow such goods to be sold to consumers.
Enterprises that have passed off imported products as domestic ones may face punishment under the Administrative Code or the Criminal Code for illegal trafficking in goods. So, in the Criminal Code for such organizations, if it is a question of a particularly large turnover, a fine of more than 1.5 billion rubles is provided, Elena Sarattseva, deputy head of Roskachestvo, told Izvestia.
According to her, marketplaces are one of the main sales channels for light industry products in the Russian Federation. In general, up to 30% of such products are sold on various Internet sites. Therefore, Roskachestvo monitors online platforms' compliance with the requirements of legislation on consumer protection and technical regulation.
What other industries require the attention of the authorities
Shoes are just the tip of the iceberg, and it's worth paying attention to other areas. In particular, as Izvestia wrote, the share of counterfeit products in the segment of auto parts and automotive technical fluids has increased by more than 2.0% in three years. During this period, more than 4,000 publications on marketplaces were blocked, over 100,000 ads on social networks were blocked, and more than 20 sites distributing counterfeit goods were closed.
In addition, market participants told Izvestia that the share of counterfeit washing and cooling fluids in retail was close to 40%. The authorities plan to tighten control over the sale of such products, including antifreeze and brake fluids, as well as over the turnover of methanol in general, which is often used in counterfeit cooling and glass washing solutions.
The HSE experts estimated the share of counterfeit goods in the light industry (clothing, accessories, textiles: towels, bed linen) in 2023. At that time, they reported that illegal goods accounted for 23% — almost 1.3 billion items. The figures have improved compared to 2019, when the volume of shadow products in this area was 36% — 2.5 billion items.
In addition, counterfeit cigarettes continue to be sold in Russia, despite the active opposition of the authorities. Underground workshops operate both domestically and abroad. In particular, huge shipments are coming from Belarus and East Asia.
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