THE BUSINESS PROPOSED LABELING ALL PARALLEL IMPORTS

All goods that are imported into Russia through parallel imports must be labeled in the same way as perfumes, shoes, fur products, etc. are already labeled. The need for labeling was stated by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) in the draft on the development of competition by the end of 2023.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service noted the importance of parallel imports in providing the domestic market with foreign goods without Russian analogues, Izvestia writes.

Currently, 40 categories of goods are supplied through parallel imports, among which most of the products are clothing and shoes. According to business estimates, this approach reduces the price of goods from 7 to 50% on average.

The issue of increasing the volume of imports of counterfeit goods under the guise of original products is most acute in parallel imports, the Federal Antimonopoly Service noted in the final part of the report, which presents generalized positions of relevant associations. In particular, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) adheres to this opinion.

To solve this problem, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed to introduce mandatory labeling for all goods imported into the territory of the Russian Federation through parallel imports. We are talking about the "Honest Sign" system. The Chamber also indicated that organizations should report on the introduction of products into circulation – up to the sale to the end consumer.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that the consumer must be reliably protected from counterfeiting, for which it is necessary to develop a mechanism for confirming the legality of products before the goods enter circulation. However, the organization also agreed that comprehensive labeling of parallel imports requires infrastructure, which currently does not exist in the Russian Federation.