The government has submitted a bill to the State Duma to eliminate the legal gap associated with the absence of penalties in Russian legislation for the illegal import of alcohol and tobacco from the EAEU countries. The document is published in the electronic database of the State Duma.
The Cabinet of Ministers noted that through the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) alcohol and tobacco products enter Russia illegally. In particular, from 2016 to 2021, the share of illegal cigarettes increased from 1.1 to 10.7 percent. In 2021, more than half of all illegal shipments came to Russia from the EAEU countries.
One of the reasons for this situation in the Cabinet of Ministers called the presence of a legal gap associated with the absence of criminal liability for the illegal import of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages into the Russian Federation from other EAEU member states. In particular, Article 2002 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability in relation to the illegal movement of alcoholic beverages and (or) tobacco products "across the customs border of the Customs Union", that is, it does not extend its effect to sections of the Russian border adjacent to other member states of the Union.
The draft law proposes to invalidate Article 200 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and clarify in Article 226 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (article on smuggling) the maximum amount of the fine. Thus, with the adoption of the draft law, the guilty persons will be criminally liable for smuggling alcohol and tobacco products under Article 226, regardless of whether such movement of goods is carried out through sections of the border of the Russian Federation coinciding with the customs border of the EAEU, or through sections of the border of the Russian Federation adjacent to other member states of the Union.
The law will come into force on April 1, 2024.
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