Courier's crown: businesses will be offered to pay for e-mail boxes and open PVZ in post offices

Businesses will be offered to pay for electronic mailboxes, which will become mandatory for legal entities, sole proprietors and the self-employed. This is one of the innovations of the latest edition of the draft law of the Ministry of Finance on the modernization of the postal industry and systemic changes in the work of the Russian Post. Previously, the project, first presented in February, provided for the creation of a special fund for the repair and modernization of post offices, but this idea was excluded from the new version. Business evaluates the initiative critically, and public figures have seen the risks of blurring responsibility in the provision of postal services.

How the Ministry of Finance offered to support Russian Post

The Ministry of Finance proposed to create a unified electronic postal system (EPS) based on the Russian Post with integration into the Gosuslug platform. Government agencies, including the Central Bank, will be required to send legally relevant communications — notices, notices, and demands — in electronic form via EPS, such as utility bills.

The government will set the amount of fees for electronic mailboxes, which will be required to be created for legal entities, sole proprietors and the self-employed. In case of non-payment, access to it is suspended, and information about its "unreliability" is transmitted to the Federal Tax Service. As explained by a market source familiar with the document, Izvestia is introducing a kind of tax on business mail. At the same time, the service will be free for the public. According to the draft, citizens will also be able to receive free SMS notifications about the arrival of mail.

This is one of the innovations of the latest version of the draft law of the Ministry of Finance on the modernization of the postal industry and JSC "Russian Post". The project was first presented in February, but has since undergone significant changes. For example, the new version eliminated the proposal to create a special fund for the repair and modernization of post offices in rural areas and hard-to-reach areas, which was planned to be replenished quarterly through mandatory contributions from parcel delivery operators and postal organizations in the amount of 3% of the revenue from delivery.

The provision of parcel delivery services to individuals (including those purchased remotely) is allowed only by licensed postal operators. Courier services will not be able to engage in this activity without an appropriate license. The draft also proposes changes to the licensing requirements for postal operators: their authorized capital will have to be at least 5 million rubles, the amount of their own funds — from 1 to 2 billion, financial support for risks – from 100 to 200 million rubles. The validity period of the license is set at 10 years.

The state licensing fee will be differentiated: federal level — 100 million rubles, regional — 10 million, local — 1 million rubles. At the same time, no fee will be charged from the Russian Post.

In addition, marketplaces included in the register of digital platforms are required to open pick-up points at post offices or deliver goods directly there. Banks will be prohibited from charging citizens a commission when paying for services at post offices. In addition, according to the document, Russian Post will receive the right to sell over-the-counter medicines in its branches. The government will determine the list of approved drugs and the conditions for their sale in the departments.

The Russian Post informed Izvestia that they do not comment on draft laws at the drafting stage. The Ministry of Finance noted that they could not provide more information than was published in the official press release.

Why is business critical of the bill?

"We are not familiar with the latest version of the bill, and we also did not participate in its elaboration," the Wildberries &Russ (RWB) press service told Izvestia.

At the same time, they noted that they are closely monitoring the development of the proposed initiatives, but they cannot support them in the current version, which they are familiar with. At the same time, the company is open to dialogue with regulators on further cooperation and the development of appropriate mechanisms.

"We consider it fundamentally important that the decisions taken are mutually beneficial and ensure a balance of interests between the state, business and consumers," the marketplace's press service emphasized, recalling that the program for opening pilot air defense plants based on Russian Post offices has been implemented by RWB for a long time and has already proven its effectiveness as an element of logistics infrastructure development.

Ozon noted that it has been cooperating with the Russian Post for several years: delivery of marketplace orders is now available in more than 27 thousand branches in large and small cities, and the company's pick-up points operate in more than a thousand branches.

— We deliver orders to them on our own, and you can find such branches by using a special Ozon sticker on the front door. This allows the postal operator to earn money as our partner, and for us to make order delivery even more convenient for customers across the country," the company said.

The Association of Digital Platforms (APC, unites Yandex, Wildberries, Ozon, Avito, Cooper marketplaces) informed Izvestia that they were not familiar with the final version of the draft law of the Ministry of Finance, and were not involved in its discussion.

— Nevertheless, we are closely monitoring the changes around this initiative and note that, according to open sources, the document largely retains provisions that have caused serious comments from the industry. In particular, one of the most important risks for the market today is the introduction of exorbitant licensing and financial requirements for delivery operators," business representatives noted.

They pointed out that the establishment of a cap of own funds in the amount of 1 to 2 billion rubles, depending on the territory of activity, as well as the introduction of differentiated state licensing fees — up to 100 million rubles for the federal level — creates insurmountable barriers for most market participants, primarily for small and medium-sized businesses, limiting their ability to enter and works in this segment.

— Such requirements will actually destroy small and medium-sized regional carriers, which form the basis of the logistics infrastructure in many regions of Russia. This will inevitably lead to a monopolization of the market, a reduction in the choice for sellers and, as a result, a decrease in the quality of service and an increase in tariffs for consumers," the association said.

In addition, the ADC still considers the mandatory requirement for marketplaces to open free-standing stores in post offices or deliver goods there to be redundant.

— At the moment, this measure also involves a regulated government tariff for cooperation. Such state regulation of tariffs, combined with the mandatory nature of the norm, creates risks of imposing economically unjustified and unfavorable conditions on marketplaces," the association said, stressing that the sustainable development of the postal industry is possible only on the basis of a balance of interests of all market participants.

Will there be any advantages from integrating marketplaces with Yandex.Mail

The idea of monopolizing Russian Post's access to mailboxes in homes can reduce the volume of unwanted advertising and streamline the delivery of correspondence, but it requires transparent access rules, responsibility for the loss of correspondence and a clear control procedure on the part of residents so that the novel does not worsen the actual availability of letters and notifications, including from alternative service providers and According to Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, there are no private courier services.

— For remote territories, this can be a useful measure, but the risk for consumers is related to the fact that mail should not replace pharmacy infrastructure without comparable requirements for storage, expiration dates, vacation conditions and counseling. If the control is weak, the consumer will receive formal availability of the medicine, but not guarantees of its proper quality and safe handling," the social activist believes.

In his opinion, the main risk of the bill lies in blurring responsibility to the consumer.

— For the consumer, there should not be a situation when the Russian Post accepts a shipment, and in case of loss, damage or violation of deadlines, it offers to deal with the contractor. A single operator should be responsible to the consumer, regardless of who actually delivered the parcel," Oleg Pavlov believes.

Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline Analytics, expressed doubts about the need for a legislative obligation for marketplaces to open PVZ in Russian Post offices. According to him, Ozon and Wildberries are already actively integrating with the state-owned postal operator.

"The percentage of marketplace goods delivered to Russian Post offices is close to 70%," he noted. — If the company had been more active, this figure could have been higher.

At the same time, the expert stressed that the state-owned operator remains an important partner for marketplaces, including in matters of opening air defense plants and issuing parcels.

Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the VMT Consult agency, told Izvestia that the proposal to oblige the opening of PVZ in Russian Post offices is explained by the government's support for this company, which has been experiencing systemic difficulties for many years. According to her, integration with marketplaces would help attract an audience to the branches, ensure revenue growth and increase the profitability of individual outlets.

— At the same time, cooperation would expand the geography of delivery to remote small towns and villages where marketplaces have not yet reached. This may be interesting for online platforms: there is a ready-made infrastructure, that is, the cost of opening a free—of-charge zone will be minimal, the expert believes.

Of the difficulties in implementing the initiative, she noted the quality of service and communication with clients who often suffer in such institutions.

— It's no secret that in small towns, the opening hours of post offices can vary up to several hours a day. While the PVZ marketplaces are consistently open for 12 hours a day. In addition, attracting customers to the branch next to the popular PVZ will be problematic," Ekaterina Kosareva noted.

The Association of e-Commerce Companies told Izvestia that they were not familiar with the draft law, so they refrained from commenting.

— The unhealthy interest of some relevant government officials in the success of marketplaces does not weaken. Within the framework of already balanced government regulation, it is undesirable to impose new obligations on private businesses," said Andrei Loboda, RASO member and top manager in the field of financial communications.

In his opinion, half of the marketplace audience under the age of 50 will perceive the mandatory co-branding with Russian Post negatively, and it will be difficult to create a positive customer experience for them.