The Head of the Ministry of Economy explained the essence of the draft law on the regulation of marketplaces

The draft law "On the Platform Economy", adopted by the State Duma in the first reading, establishes uniform rules for regulating marketplaces, taxi aggregators and other platforms. In particular, the new regulations fix responsibility to performers and sellers, Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Ministry of Economic Development, explained during the plenary session of the Duma. This is reported by the Parliamentary Newspaper.

"Platforms are required to verify information about partners through the portal of public services, registers of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities," Reshetnikov said.

The bill regulates contractual relations between sellers and platform operators. The main goal is to ensure transparent and balanced relations between platforms, performers and users, without creating unnecessary administrative barriers, the minister explained.

The draft law establishes the civil law nature of the relationship between the contractor and the platform. According to it, intermediary digital platforms will be included in a special registry created by the government, which will include only online platforms that meet all the necessary requirements. Participation in the registry will allow platforms to work with performers on civil law terms.

At the same time, inclusion in the register presupposes open interaction with the Federal Tax Service, which contributes to the sustainable development of the sector. According to industry experts, such an approach, on the one hand, will help platforms work in a clearly defined legal field, on the other hand, it will give performers confidence in protecting their interests. As a result, the state will also benefit, as it will be able to provide all parties to the process with fair tax conditions within a balanced business ecosystem.

"From this point of view, we give certainty to the business, and at the same time we clearly say that it is possible. As a matter of fact, everything else will already be checked by regulatory authorities and can be retrained into labor relations," the head of the Ministry of Economic Development explained.

According to industry experts, the proposed bill provides significant rights for the contractor. Thus, if adopted, the law will systematically strengthen the security level of the contractor on different platforms. In particular, the draft provides for the possibility of paying social contributions and insurance contributions without making them mandatory. Also, the part-time employee will be able to independently determine the place and time of accepting orders, get acquainted with their terms, accept them and stop doing so in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. The contractor has the right to receive information from the operator about activities on the intermediary platform, including the terms of the contract, quality standards for the provision of services, ways to protect their rights, and so on. It is allowed to carry out orders on different online platforms.

According to the bill adopted in the first reading, its requirements may enter into force on March 1, 2027. By this time, the bill will be finalized directly by the digital platforms themselves.

"The current version of the bill deals with a number of key issues of digital platforms, it regulates contractual relations between sellers and platform operators, makes the process of their interaction more transparent," said State Duma Deputy Vladimir Gutenev at a plenary session in the State Duma.

The Ministry of Economic Development, with the participation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, has been developing a draft law since the fall of 2024. The work was carried out on behalf of Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Government Staff. In February 2025, the document was submitted to the government.