No new information yet on possibility of trading alcohol online in Russia - Sazanov
MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry has confirmed once again that discussions on trading alcohol via the internet have still not been resumed.
"I don't have any new data. There is still no information on whether or not trading via the internet will be permitted," Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov said at the Moscow Financial Forum on Thursday.
As reported, trading alcohol online was banned in Russia in 2007, whereupon several attempts were made to have it legalized. According to the first draft bill put forward by the Finance Ministry, the law was to be in effect until online trade commenced in 2020; however, the Health Ministry and Ministry of Internal Affairs raised objections.
In 2021, the Russian president instructed the government along with Russian Post to conduct an experiment for the sale of Russian wines using Russian Post delivery points as an administration channel. The launch of sales was scheduled for 2023.
In April 2023, the Russian government approved and submitted to the State Duma a draft bill on the experiment, in which online retail sales of Russian wine were to be conducted from November 1, 2023 until July 31, 2026 in Moscow and the Moscow region. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs objected to the experiment and said that it had had no part in putting together the draft bill, which was developed by the Finance Ministry.
The Russian Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Market Regulation Service also spoke out against online sales of alcohol. Director Igor Aleshin told Rossiiskaya Gazeta in an interview in March 2024 that in light of the number of legal alcohol stores on the market, there was no pressing demand for an additional sales channel.
As RBC reported in August, the government planned that the pilot project for online sales of age-restricted items and Russian wines would be approved from August 2026. This was confirmed by a source familiar with the initiative, who also said that the deadlines were likely to be "moved to the right". It follows from the plan that legislation needs to be adjusted in order to begin selling Russian wine online and online delivery infrastructure integrated with the alcohol production and sales inventory system (EGAIS).
The office of Deputy Prime Ministry Dmitry Grigorenko confirmed that it would be possible to launch a pilot project selling Russian wine online using biometric data and said that "the initiative requires a detailed and reliable legal framework", for example, to ensure that the age verification function works as necessary.
Vladislav Povolotsky, CEO of JSC Biometric Technologies Center (BTC), which runs the Unified Biometric System, told journalists at the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum that the center was developing an online service for the sale of energy drinks and Russian wine. "BTC is working together with partners to launch an age verification service for online and offline purchases of tonic drinks. A pilot project is being prepared for this. A similar technology can be used for online sales in other product categories - for example, Russian wine," Povolotsky said.
He also said that the launch of wine deliveries depended not only on the availability of suitable technology, but also on the existence of a corresponding regulatory framework.
