According to Kommersant, the Ministry of Finance's plans to introduce tobacco retail licensing by analogy with the licensing regime for the alcohol market were approved at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and head of the government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko. As expected, starting in the fall of 2026, each tobacco retail facility will require trade permits. Earlier, the expert council of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy proposed to create a register of sellers of tobacco and nicotine-containing products. At the same time, the Council proposed to ease a number of licensing requirements for participants in tobacco trafficking, including removing the clause on the minimum size of the store area (25 sq. m. m for rural areas and 50 sq . m. m in cities).
The Stop Legal Tobacco portal asked Artem Kiryanov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, to comment on these initiatives.
- The State Duma is very closely involved in issues related to the turnover of tobacco and nicotine-containing products. And I keep reminding my fellow MPs that we should stay in professional positions, including positions related to the economy. After all, the prohibition of any phenomena in the form of regulations, not only does not help, but also brings everything into the shadow plane.
Labeling as the most effective whitewashing tool for any industry in which it is implemented has its effect. But the problem remains, and the market is in the black zone. Only a very clear and understandable elaboration of legislation and regulations, which contributes to the rhythmic work of a bona fide business, can help us resolve issues.
If we talk about licensing, then there is no need to try to row all sellers under one comb. There are conscientious entrepreneurs, and there are some small microbusinesses that take advantage of our shortcomings both in terms of regulation and in terms of the application of sanctions.
And here, of course, it is necessary to restore order. But not to deprive them of the right to sell, but to force them to comply with the requirements of the law. Public control mechanisms should be used. We have them, starting from the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, to public chambers in each region, and public councils attached to regional executive authorities. Accordingly, control activities are somewhat easier for those regions where such involvement is underway.
Increased standards for retail spaces will not help us identify counterfeiting and cover up illegal trade. Due to excessive regulation of trade, the very nature of the sale of cigarettes and nicotine-containing products may change. These changes will lead to the fact that if there are no small pavilions along the route of people legally selling tobacco, then there will definitely be some people with cardboard boxes who will sell anything in their place at the subway. And this will definitely be a big problem, because our law enforcement agencies are not ready for such challenges.
Source: