A bill on regulating the activities of marketplaces was introduced to the State Duma

State Duma deputies introduced a bill to regulate the activities of marketplaces in the lower house of parliament. One of the key goals of the project is to combat the trade in counterfeit goods in online stores, reported MP Artem Kiryanov in his Telegram channel.

“The e-commerce industry needs legislative regulation, which should take into account the interests of all parties – consumers of goods, the industry itself and the state. <...> The fight against counterfeit goods and counterfeits sold through marketplaces is an extremely pressing topic,” Kiryanov noted.

Draft relevant amendments to the laws “On the Fundamentals of State Regulation of Trade Activities” and “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” published in the Duma electronic database. The document was developed by a group of deputies from the United Russia, Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia factions. If adopted, the document will come into force on April 1, 2024.

In the explanatory note to the bill, parliamentarians noted that the owners of marketplaces should be required to publish on the website open data on the terms of the contracts they enter into with sellers and owners of pick-up points (POPs).

Transaction parameters can be changed, but not more than once a year, the project added. The parties must notify of their desire to change the provisions of the contract at least 30 calendar days before the expiration of the contract.

Deputies also proposed prohibiting marketplace owners from restricting access to personal accounts of sellers and pickup points. Also, online stores may be restricted from selling their own products with a turnover of over 150 billion rubles. if similar products are already on sale.

On Russian marketplaces in the spring of 2024, a deferred write-off function may appear when paying for goods, work or services. The introduction of such a mechanism was announced at the end of August by the Mir payment system. The development of a new payment procedure is related to the request of trade and service enterprises, for which in some cases it is more convenient to conduct transactions “in deferred authorization mode.”