To lose in a box: public utilities opposed the law on modernization of Russian Post

Municipal organizations opposed restrictions on the rights of residents to dispose of communal property, in particular, the monopoly of the Russian Post on mailboxes. They also do not support the idea of transferring the delivery of payment documents for housing and communal services exclusively to electronic format and the obligations of management companies to conclude contracts with a state-owned company for the delivery of documents. According to market participants, such measures may lead to an increase in the costs of management organizations, which will eventually be shifted to consumers. These arguments were presented by two relevant associations in an appeal to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Who else criticizes the law on the modernization of the postal industry and why — in the Izvestia article.

Who owns the mailboxes

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is asked not to support 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. Such an appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers was made by the Association of Housing and Communal Services Enterprises "United Housing and Communal Services Council" and the Association of Management Organizations "New Quality". According to the authors, the proposed regulations are excessive and do not take into account current regulatory trends in the utility industry.

The letter from the associations reviewed by Izvestia notes that the bill involves limiting the number of people who have access to mailboxes in apartment buildings. It is proposed to assign the monopoly right to their use to the Russian Post, its operators and management organizations. At the same time, the authors of the appeal emphasize that the boxes belong to communal property, the disposal of which is within the competence of the general meeting of owners.

In addition, industry representatives do not support the rule on the obligation of the Criminal Code to conclude contracts with Russian Post for the delivery of payment documents, as well as the idea of securing the right to pay for housing and communal services exclusively through personal accounts on the public services portal. In support of their position, they refer to the explanations of the plenum of the Supreme Court, according to which the consumer cannot be required to receive payment documents only in paper or exclusively in electronic form.

"The court's clarifications state that the norms of housing legislation are socially oriented and it is citizens who have the right to determine the procedure of interaction convenient for them when receiving payment documents. This procedure has received a positive law enforcement assessment and does not require regulatory adjustments," the authors of the appeal explain.

The authors of the appeals emphasize that currently the functions of informing about the amount of financial obligations of owners under apartment building management agreements, as well as the possibility of payment, have already been implemented in the GIS housing and communal services system. In their opinion, replacing the current mechanism with an electronic postal system is impractical and will entail additional budget expenditures, without having a practical and social effect.

At the same time, they note that it would be wrong to assign the delivery of bills only to GIS housing and communal services, because this would also contradict the law "On Protection of Competition", since the delivery of bills to mailboxes, as well as their transfer to mobile applications, refers to commercial services.

"When approving the amount of fees for the maintenance of residential premises, the owners and management organizations did not take into account the costs of using the electronic mail system. Accordingly, the adoption of the proposed law will entail the need for additional expenditures of owners' funds, which could be aimed at improving the technical condition of the common property," the document says.

Market participants do not support the approach in which Russian Post receives legislative preferences by limiting competition and redistributing financial flows, Mark Geller, one of the authors of the appeal, executive director of the Association of Housing and Communal Services Enterprises United Housing and Communal Services Council, told Izvestia. According to him, the delivery of payment documents is a commercial service, and its monopolization contradicts the antimonopoly legislation.

The bill, in his assessment, unreasonably restricts the rights of homeowners to independently determine the use of common property, duplicates the existing functionality of GIS housing and communal services and narrows the possibilities of citizens in choosing the format for receiving payment documents. In addition, the document may create risks of additional financial burden on the population.

The Ministry of Finance told Izvestia that they were in dialogue with the industry and interested departments on the bill.

— The comprehensive bill is aimed at modernizing the postal industry and expanding services available to citizens. The document provides for systemic changes in the work of the Russian Post. Among them are the sale of over—the-counter medicines in branches, a ban on banks charging citizens a commission when paying for services in branches, free SMS notifications about the receipt of mail for citizens, and much more," the ministry's press service explained.

They also noted that the proposed support measures are aimed at modernizing the postal industry, expanding services available to citizens, improving the quality and security of correspondence delivery, as well as strengthening the financial stability of the state-owned company.

Izvestia also sent inquiries to the government's press service. A source in the Cabinet of Ministers said that the appeal had been received and sent to the Ministry for consideration.

How the Russian Post Support Bill restricts competition

The proposals of municipal organizations are supported by the relevant State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services.

— Access to subscribers' mailboxes is the responsibility of the owners. The forced transfer of payments to the EPGU bypassing the working GIS of housing and communal services and without taking into account the will of citizens violates the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and leads to limited competition," Vladimir Koshelev, first deputy chairman of the committee, told Izvestia.

According to him, the new costs of the electronic postal system will fall on the shoulders of residents, which is socially unjustified. Before introducing another intermediary, it is necessary to carefully consider the existing state instruments, he stressed.

Earlier, marketplaces criticized the bill. The press service of Wildberries & Russ (RWB) stated that they could not support the document in the current version, which they were 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.

The document causes serious comments from the industry, said the Association of Digital Platforms (unites Yandex, Wildberries, Ozon, Avito, Cooper marketplaces). 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 billion 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 work in this segment.

Georgy Ostapkovich, research director of the HSE Center for Market Research, believes that it is pointless to revive the Russian Post only with an infusion of funds and at the expense of the population and business, because it is a deeply unprofitable company.

— It is necessary to change the management mechanisms, perhaps to abandon something, rather than bring it to social discontent, since the country is not limited to cities with millions of people, where there is a good Internet and information education of citizens on how to use digital services is conducted, — the expert explained.

In his opinion, all such reforms should be very thoughtful, balanced and gradual.