A century is not in sight – Kommersant

Representatives of business associations and business circles yesterday noted the responsible attitude of business to compliance with mandatory requirements: despite the weakening of state control during the CND reform, the number of violations did not increase, nor was there an increase in the number of incidents, which allows us to speak about the success of the reform, the effectiveness of new approaches and even raise the issue of an indefinite moratorium on inspections “the old fashioned way.”

Thus, according to business ombudsman Boris Titov, a moratorium on inspections has become one of the “basic options” to support business in the current turbulence and there is no reason to refuse it: “The results of recent years speak for themselves: no surge in incidents occurred, but This means that there is no need to return the number of scheduled visits of inspectors to enterprises.” Separately, Mr. Titov notes that the extension of the moratorium is “a very good ideological background for the work that the government is currently carrying out in continuing the reform of control and supervisory activities.” “In the draft concept for improving the CND until 2026, the correct principles laid down in the new law on state control will receive their technical implementation. Ideally, control should be entirely based on a risk-based approach, and it is not compatible with the “plan for the shaft” of inspection activities. So we are waiting for new good news from the Ministry of Economy,” he says.

President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin recalls that as a result of the reform of control and supervision, entrepreneurs annually save about 200 billion rubles on fines: “It is gratifying that such support has not led to an increase in incidents related to violations by business. This indicates the effectiveness of the measures taken by the government and increased responsibility in the business community. Therefore, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomes the decision to extend the moratorium until 2024 and proposes to make it indefinite, since the risk-based approach is already fully operational.”

Ekaterina Avdeeva, head of the expert center on criminal legal policy and execution of judicial acts of the business association “Business Russia”, also calls the measure timely and reasonable. “On the one hand, businesses need to recover, focus their resources and efforts on their core business activities and productivity growth. And in this context, reducing the administrative burden is an important component of government support. Moreover, entrepreneurs also help solve government problems in the field of socio-economic development of the country. On the other hand, the moratorium is extended within the framework of a risk-based approach to CNI – this decision does not give indulgence to unscrupulous entrepreneurs and does not reduce the necessary control over enterprises with high levels of risk and will allow inspections if the risks are significant: the state seeks to balance the interests of entrepreneurs, and public interests in terms of safety and security. The experience of previous periods of moratorium on unscheduled inspections has shown that entrepreneurs treat this consciously, and we have not observed an increase in incidents due to a reduction in the number of inspections,” she recalls.

First Vice President of Opora Russia Marina Bludyan recalls that risk indicators were successfully developed by the Federal Tax Service (FTS). “That’s why we have confidence in the reform and these changes. From the experience of the Federal Tax Service, we see how to work with indicators, how to eliminate risks within an organization and reduce administrative pressure,” says the expert. According to her, the good thing about indicators is that they allow inspectors to check a business in a targeted manner – only for “triggered” risks. This year, departments prepared indicators without the participation of the business community in order to have time to present their developments to the government. However, by the end of the year, 15 meetings will be held at the “Supports of Russia” site, where business, together with control authorities, will eliminate the most controversial indicators. Then, throughout 2024, the indicators will be adjusted in practice. “The moratorium on unscheduled inspections is a temporary measure; it will allow us to streamline processes, as well as consolidate the successes of the reform and the new control procedure. Inspectors are still ready to return to inspections at any time; they need to get used to preventive regimes and master other risk-based tools,” she explains.

Diana Galieva, Oleg Sapozhkov