Russian Prosecutor General's Office offers Industry and Trade Ministry to broaden parallel import list - Krasnov

OMSK. Dec 6 (Interfax) - The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has forwarded proposals to the Industry and Trade Ministry, asking it to broaden the list of parallel import goods to meet businesses' needs, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said at a meeting with entrepreneurs in Omsk.

The president of the Opora Russia non-governmental organization of small and medium-sized businesses, Alexander Kalinin, for his part, said at the meeting that Russia's parallel import mechanism should be updated. In particular, according to Kalinin, the list of goods that can be imported to Russia without the rights holder's consent does not contain a number of products that are key to the successful operation of the metals sector and scientific research programs.

The Prosecutor General's Office is aware of these problems, Krasnov said.

"We have already informed the Industry and Trade Ministry of Russia about them and have submitted concrete suggestions on how to change the situation, including by adjusting the procedure for forming this list and the frequency at which it should be updated. Attention was also drawn to the need to broaden it [the list] taking the business community's needs into consideration," the prosecutor general said.

At the same time, it is important to maintain the safety of such imports and the possibility to track their movements, he said.

The Russian government legalized parallel import in the spring of 2022 to meet the needs for in-demand foreign goods. One of the principles for including goods in the parallel import list is that they are no longer supplied to the Russian market. Parallel imports are legally manufactured goods which are delivered via alternative routes. The parallel import list is endorsed by the Industry and Trade Ministry.