In most regions, the inspection fee for a passenger car has exceeded 1 thousand rubles

This week, regional authorities should set maximum tariffs for technical inspections, which will come into effect on January 1. As Kommersant calculated, most subjects will increase the price of maintenance for a passenger car by 12%, from 913 to 1022 rubles. The most expensive procedure will be in Chukotka (4.5 thousand rubles), St. Petersburg (1.72 thousand rubles) and the Amur region (1.5 thousand rubles). To calculate an “economically justified” price, officials need to obtain data from inspection operators, but business, as Kommersant found out, was extremely reluctant to participate in the process. Many operators are even “considering whether to quit this type of activity.”

According to the order of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), regional authorities must set tariffs for technical inspection by December 20. On the evening of December 15, Kommersant found documentary evidence of the plans of 68 federal subjects to introduce new prices from January 1. In half of the regions, the tariff for the most popular category of vehicles M1 (passenger cars) is increasing by 12% – from the current 913 to 1022 rubles. The most expensive technical inspection will be for motorists in Chukotka: the price increases from 4.1 thousand to 4.5 thousand rubles. for a passenger car (the regional government did not respond to Kommersant’s request). In St. Petersburg, the procedure will rise in price from 1.54 thousand to 1.72 thousand rubles, in the Amur region – from 1.4 thousand to 1.57 thousand rubles, in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug – from 1.37 thousand up to 1.5 thousand rubles, in Kamchatka – from 1.33 thousand to 1.49 thousand rubles. Among the regions where technical inspection is the cheapest are Ivanovo (tariff increase from 586 to 913 rubles), Volgograd (from 576 to 913 rubles) and Kemerovo (from 913 to 947 rubles) regions.

The annual increase in maintenance tariffs is provided for by the FAS order and the corresponding methodology for 2022. Regions are required to request information from operators about their expenses (payroll, equipment repairs, etc. according to a list of documents) and, based on this data, annually calculate an “economically justified” tariff. If less than 50% of local companies send data, officials index the tariff themselves. The authorities of the Voronezh region, Kommersant found out, received information from only 12.5% ​​of regional operators, Leningrad region – 11%, Ivanovo region – 12%, Kirov region – 4%, Krasnoyarsk Territory – 1%. They failed to assemble a “quorum” in the Kursk region, St. Petersburg, and Tver region. The Moscow authorities, the Department of Prices and Tariffs of the Tambov Region, the Department of Price and Tariff Regulation of the Samara Region, and the Tariff Committee of the Moscow Region have not received any proposals from businesses at all, although they have requested.

The FAS confirmed to Kommersant that in most regions the tariff was increased “by the indexation method.” This approach, they are sure, preserves “economic incentives for work” for operators, allowing them to reimburse costs and receive the profit necessary for development. Let us remind you that from 2021, maintenance is mandatory only for trucks, buses and taxis. Owners of a private vehicle fleet (individuals) must undergo maintenance in case of registration and re-registration of a car older than four years, as well as when making changes to the design of vehicles. According to the Russian Union of Auto Insurers (RUA), there are 3.57 thousand vehicle inspection operators in Russia.

Operators need to more actively unite in unions or SROs in order to defend their interests, including when calculating tariffs, says Sergei Efremov, deputy executive director of RSA. Not all operators, he explains, understand the intricacies of accounting (many of them are individual entrepreneurs) and are ready to provide the necessary set of documents. “It is difficult to organize several dozen entrepreneurs; this requires a powerful professional association,” confirms Alexander Vasiliev, a representative of the Ermak inspection operators association. “Individual operators do not want to do this themselves.” “The lack of initiative on the part of business is explained by stagnation in the market, the main reason for which was “voluntary maintenance,” says the head of the technical inspection point in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (operator of Mars LLC) Ivan Kekin. “Against this background, the tariff campaign has turned into a simple rewriting of prices” .

“A lot of operators are working hard to reduce taxes; accordingly, according to official documents, the operator has few expenses,” adds Alexander Vasiliev. Even if the required number of operators were found, only a few would be able to correctly justify the calculations, adds Ivan Kekin: not all expenses can be documented by operators and presented for justification.

Almost no one goes to maintenance points now, says the head of the Tekhekspert union, Sergei Zaitsev, the load does not exceed 15–20%. “Many people in the industry are considering whether to quit this type of activity,” he admits. “When the business is in this state, what kind of calculations will it give? And those scammers who sell technical inspections will not transfer anything to anyone.”

The FAS believes that the current methodology “contains a flexible mechanism for setting tariffs” and reminds that operators had the right to provide the necessary documents before August 1. The antimonopoly service does not rule out that in 2024 they will conduct an “additional analysis” of the methodology “for its relevance and adjustment.”

Ivan Buranov