Brewers oppose the transfer of rights to regions to limit the sale of alcohol in apartment buildings

Brewers are trying to influence the fate of the bill aimed at establishments in residential buildings that sell alcohol around the clock under the guise of providing catering services. Market participants are asking the State Duma to refuse to give regions the right to limit the time of beer sales in such facilities, for fear of complicating distribution. Regulators support the bill with an exception for restaurants, but experts see difficulties in implementing the initiative.

The Association of Craft Breweries (includes Volkovskaya Brewery, Konix Brewery, etc.) proposed that the State Duma refuse to transfer to the regions the right to limit the hours of alcohol sales in catering establishments located in apartment buildings and in adjacent areas. Kommersant has a copy of the address to the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Maxim Topilin, dated January 29.

This provision is included in the bill directed against organizations selling alcohol around the clock under the guise of providing catering services. Among the authors of the bill are First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy, Maxim Topilin. The document also proposes to give regions the right to prohibit the retail sale of beer, cider and mead in one place with the provision of catering services, or to allow it only in restaurants, bars, cafes and buffets.

As stated in the explanatory note, the retail sale of strong alcohol when providing catering services is already prohibited and is punishable by deprivation of a license, and the sale of beer and cider is not licensed, and it is the establishments selling these drinks in homes that cause the main complaints from residents. The bill will be considered in the second reading on January 31, the State Duma reported. The State Duma press service and the Economic Policy Committee did not respond to Kommersant.

The Craft Brewers Association writes that it supports restrictions on the separation of beer and cider sales locations, but worries that regional restrictions on sales hours could create an uneven playing field for companies operating in neighboring regions. The association believes that such restrictions should be established by federal legislation.

President of the Association of Craft Brewers Alexey Aksel explains that different sales times for beer in catering establishments operating in homes in neighboring regions will complicate distribution for manufacturers and create difficulties for conscientious sellers and consumers. Chairman of the “Supports of Russia” commission on the production and circulation of brewing products, Igor Khavsky, notes that although limiting the time for the sale of alcohol in residential buildings is justified for residents, the approach to regulation should be federal. The Shokoladnitsa Group of Companies added that it is necessary to take into account the specifics of coffee shops on the first floors of houses, without creating insurmountable difficulties with the sale of alcohol.

The Association of Beer, Malt and Beverage Producers (APP; includes AB InBev Efes, Baltika, United Breweries) agrees that giving regions the right to limit the time of beer sales in public catering establishments in residential buildings carries some risks for law-abiding market participants. The APP proposes to fight sellers who ignore the legislation by defining and enshrining in the legislation the retail trade of takeaway beer in order to regulate only this segment.

The Ministry of Finance told Kommersant that they support the bill, as well as the amendments proposed by the State Duma committee. The document prepared for the second reading contains a clause that the restriction on the hours of alcohol sales in public catering facilities in apartment buildings will not affect restaurants, the ministry clarifies.

In turn, the vice-president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, Alexey Nebolsin, points out that it is unclear how to administer compliance with the exclusion of restaurants and on what principles they should differ from cafes and bars. A Kommersant source in the industry adds that such clauses “carry corruption risks.” But, he admits, business is unlikely to be able to influence the bill.

Anatoly Kostyrev, Daria Andrianova