The Ministry of Finance has drawn up draft documents that introduce duties for obtaining licenses for the sale of tobacco and criminal liability for trade without a license. The introduction of duties and penalties was required due to the government's plans to introduce new regulation of the tobacco market from March 2026. The share of counterfeit products reaches 10-65% in different types of products, which is why the budget loses up to 150 billion rubles a year. Kommersant's interlocutors in the market, however, say that the proposed rule change may lead not to a reduction, but to an increase in the share of counterfeit goods, and hope for a relaxation of regulations.
The Ministry of Finance published on regulation.gov.ru a package of documents to tighten the rules of trade in tobacco and nicotine-containing products. The first document introduces licensing of wholesale, retail and distribution trade in tobacco and its substitutes, including vapes and hookahs, from March 1, 2026. Amendments are being made to the law "On State Regulation of Production and Turnover of Tobacco Products" (203-FZ). The process will be phased: by September 1, 2026, entrepreneurs can obtain licenses if they meet the requirements for registration in the state information system for labeling goods, payment of state duty and absence of tax arrears. Rosalokoltabakcontrol will issue licenses for wholesale trade, and regional government agencies will issue licenses for retail and delivery. From September 1, 2026, the unlicensed sale of tobacco will be prohibited, but a transitional period will be in effect for a year to bring retail facilities into compliance with licensing requirements.
The Ministry of Finance also proposes to adjust tax and criminal legislation by setting the amount of state fees for obtaining and renewing licenses and measures of responsibility for non-compliance.
For wholesale trade, the duty is projected at 800 thousand rubles for five years and 3.5 thousand rubles for license renewal, for retail and delivery — 20 thousand rubles for each year of the license. Criminal liability is being introduced for non—compliance with the requirements, as in the alcohol market, where this has had an effect, the authors note.
The idea of stricter regulation of the tobacco market has been discussed since at least the summer of 2024: illegal income outweighs fines (see Kommersant on February 18 and April 16). In April 2024, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov estimated the amount of additional budget revenues during the "mobilization of control measures" for the tobacco market at 150 billion rubles. In total, by the end of 2024, excise taxes on domestic tobacco products alone, according to estimates of the Accounting Chamber, brought 826.7 billion rubles to the budget. (14.1% more than in 2023).
The authors of the draft on the amount of duties cite data from the ANO NCC: by the fourth quarter of 2024, the share of illegal cigarettes was 10.8%, the share of illegal turnover of vaping liquids was 65.8%. Baysolt Khamzatov, first vice president of the Anti-Counterfeit Association, says that the share of counterfeit products in the tobacco market by the end of 2024 was 11%, having decreased by 4.6 percentage points over five years. This was achieved through the introduction of the "Honest Mark" label, increased control, digital excise taxes, increased fines, and more. Licensing tobacco retail, according to the expert, by itself cannot guarantee that a retail facility will stop selling counterfeit goods. "It is necessary to create an effective system for monitoring compliance with licensing requirements and ensure the inevitability of punishment for violations," says Mr. Khamzatov.
According to a Kommersant source in the industry, after the transfer of tobacco regulation to Rosalokoltabakkontrol, the agency is trying to replicate the control system that is used for the alcohol market. But this can lead to the opposite effect. "After all, the level of illegal trafficking of strong alcohol, in particular vodka, is significantly higher than tobacco. In addition, regional budgets receive part of the excise taxes on alcohol, not the federal budget, so there is no need to talk about an additional 150 billion rubles," the Kommersant source notes.
Kommersant's interlocutor in the tobacco market says that negotiations are continuing: the industry remains hopeful that regulation will be relaxed. According to him, the norms are now sensitive for the market: they may lead not to a reduction, but to an increase in the share of counterfeit goods.
"Due to the inability or unwillingness to obtain a license, small traders may be forced to abandon their business, and illegal sellers will take their places," the expert argues. The Kommersant source assumes that the demand for cigarettes is inelastic and will remain the same even with a reduction in the number of retail facilities. Nikita Kornienko, CEO of SimpleEstate, explains that tobacco shops, as a rule, occupy small areas — 3-10 square meters. m. The demand for their products is provided by a large number of smokers: the product remains high-margin, the outlets earn well, and the license price is 20 thousand rubles. insignificant to them.
A Kommersant source on the FMCG market recalls that the bulk of regulation is introduced at the federal level and the only recipient of tobacco excise taxes is the federal budget. When transferring licensing powers to regional authorities, the uniformity of approaches is destroyed: there is no incentive to balance the interests of regulatory authorities and small businesses, regions can introduce any criteria for the area or location of points. "This can lead to a painful result for businesses, regional and federal budgets: a significant number of legal outlets in hard-to-reach and remote settlements, non-chain "convenience stores" in large cities, and small stalls in shopping malls will close. Up to 40% of all retail facilities, more than 100 thousand small entrepreneurs," says the source of Kommersant. Consumers are not going anywhere, and most of them will switch to buying from under the floor. "This will lead to the loss of tens of billions of rubles from the federal budget, as well as to the growth of the illegal market, which has begun to decline only in the last two years," the source states.
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