Marketplaces offered an alternative to infrastructure payment for Russian Post

The Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT) offered to help increase the intensity of use of the Russian Post infrastructure through the purchase of company services. Their volume in 2024 could reach 33.5 billion rubles. This is stated in a letter from the association addressed to the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein.

In May, Russian Post proposed obliging marketplace owners and e-commerce market participants whose annual revenue reaches at least 1 billion rubles to make an infrastructure payment in favor of the state-owned company in the amount of 0.5% of the quarterly turnover of goods. Pochta estimated the total amount of deductions at approximately 28 billion rubles. in year. The payment was supposed to support unprofitable post offices in remote areas. The Ministry of Economy sent the initiative for revision. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Federal Antimonopoly Service did not support the proposal.

According to the text of the letter, which leads RBC, we are talking about the use of infrastructure in the domestic market, in international shipments and other types of logistics. AKIT also pointed out the possibility of partnership in the field of partial issuance and payment of orders at Russian Post offices, acceptance and return of funds, as well as fitting. RBC’s interlocutor at Russian Post claims that the minimum necessary costs for the delivery of letters, pensions and parcels not covered by revenue can vary from 23 billion to 29 billion rubles. in year.

AKIT President Artem Sokolov confirmed to RBC that the association has sent a proposal according to which, as an alternative to the infrastructure payment, it is ready to purchase services from Russian Post that are in demand in online retail. According to Alexander Khinshtein, he has not yet received AKIT’s appeal. At the same time, he said that at the end of July, marketplaces approached him with an offer to cover the required amount in order to avoid an infrastructure payment.

On September 25, at a meeting of the Federation Council, Speaker of the Chamber Valentina Matvienko stated, that Russian Post has a growing financial hole and “the situation urgently needs to be corrected.” She wondered whether there were “other processes” going on at Russian Post that “need to be corrected with the participation of law enforcement agencies or others.”

General Director of Russian Post Mikhail Volkov explainedthat the situation indeed “remains tense.” Nevertheless, within six months the organization managed to reduce operating losses by almost three times. According to Russian Post’s RAS reporting, as of June 30, the company’s loss for January-June amounted to 6.6 billion rubles. For the same period in 2022, this figure was 17.7 billion rubles.