Russian importers received declarations for the import of alcohol Bacardi, Diageo, Pernod Ricard

Russian suppliers of alcoholic beverages LLC “Logistic Trade” and LLC “BIG” received declarations for the import of alcoholic products of foreign companies into the country, follows from the documents on the portal declaration-conformity.rus. Importers have begun to prepare in advance for the possible inclusion of alcoholic beverages in the list of goods for parallel imports.

Among the foreign alcohol brands that have received the documents necessary for importing goods into Russia are Diageo, Bacardi, Pernod Ricard, Brown Forman, Jim Beam, etc. Previously, only Russian subsidiaries (Bacardi Rus, Diaggio Brand Distributors) , “P.R.Rus”, “Brown Foreman Rus”), as well as official local partners – “Synergy Import” (Beluga Group) and “Rust”.

After the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, these foreign companies announced either a suspension of supplies to Russia or a complete withdrawal from the market. However, the number of issued declarations has not changed. Now, not subsidiaries, but Russian LLCs are acting as applicants for the import of alcohol. From the data of the declarations portal, it follows that over the past two months, Logistic Trade LLC and BIG LLC, which is part of the AST group of alcohol companies, have received the documents necessary for the import of goods from large foreign companies into Russia.

AST CEO Leonid Rafailov explained RTVIthat declarations are drawn up in advance, so that “in case of permission for parallel imports of alcohol, promptly begin to supply it.” He also clarified that the purchase in this case will be carried out directly from manufacturers or their official partners. At the moment, AST has not yet started importing foreign alcohol into Russia. However, according to Mr. Rafailov, there are companies on the Russian market that have started deliveries without waiting for official permission.

In March this year, the Russian government allowed parallel import of goods into the country for certain types of products. Importation of such products can be carried out without obtaining permission from the copyright holder, manufacturer or dealer. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has compiled a list of products, but alcohol is not included in it. In August, the Association of Retail Companies (AKORT) asked the government of the Russian Federation to expand the list of goods and allow parallel imports of a number of brands, including Moet, Veuve Clicqout, Finlandia, Jack Daniel`s, Hennessy.

Read more about why Russia needs parallel imports in the Kommersant publication. “The brand is not the owner of the warehouse.”

Milena Kostereva