The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation has developed a draft law providing for the introduction of licensing of wholesale and retail trade in tobacco and nicotine-containing products from March 2026.
The document amending the federal law "On State Regulation of the production and turnover of tobacco products, tobacco products, nicotine-containing products and raw materials for their production" is posted on the website regulation.gov.ru .
As reported in the explanatory note, since March 1, 2024, licensing of the production, export and import of tobacco products, nicotine-containing products and raw materials for their production has been introduced in the Russian Federation. However, licensing of wholesale and retail sales is not provided. The new draft law is aimed at the consistent development of regulatory and legal regulation of the tobacco industry aimed at combating the illegal market, and provides for the introduction of licensing in the trade sector.
"The draft law proposes to establish the following types of activities, the implementation of which will be subject to licensing: purchase, storage and supply of tobacco products, nicotine-containing products, raw materials and nicotine raw materials; retail sale of tobacco products and nicotine-containing products; distribution of tobacco products and nicotine-containing products," the explanatory note says. "The procedure for obtaining, suspending and canceling the relevant licenses, and making changes to the register of licenses is established by the draft law by analogy with the procedure that applies to licenses for the production, export and import of tobacco products, nicotine-containing products and raw materials for their production."
Licensing is planned to be introduced in stages. From March 1, 2026 to September 1, 2026, licenses will be issued if applicants meet the requirements for registration in the monitoring information system, payment of state duties and absence of tax arrears; from September 1, 2026, a ban on wholesale and retail trade of products without a license will be introduced; from September 1, 2026 to September 1, 2027 A transition period has been set for bringing retail facilities into compliance with licensing requirements.
Rosalokoltabakcontrol will issue and revoke licenses for wholesale trade, and the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will issue and revoke licenses for retail trade and delivery trade. In order to obtain licenses and carry out licensed activities, a number of licensing requirements will be established, most of which are requirements already established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
In addition, retail trade facilities will be subject to licensing requirements for the ownership, economic management, operational management or lease (for a period of more than a year) of a retail facility (store or pavilion) with an area of at least 5 square meters (for retail trade), the absence of tax arrears of more than 3,000 rubles and the payment of state license fees. At the same time, the subjects of the Russian Federation will be authorized to establish additional restrictions on the retail sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products on their territories, as well as to increase the minimum size of the retail facility, but not more than five times.
According to the explanatory note, the state fee for the actions of licensing authorities will not be burdensome and will not create an excessive financial burden on organizations and individual entrepreneurs engaged in legal activities. Wholesale and retail trade without a license will entail administrative and criminal liability.
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