Russian IT companies signed a charter to limit software prices

Russian software developers have signed a charter to voluntarily limit price increases for their products. The signing ceremony took place at the Digital Industry of Industrial Russia (CIPR) conference.

The document provides for limiting prices by inflation plus 15%. “This is not about freezing prices, this is about some kind of reasonable restriction. This is inflation plus 15%,” declared Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maxim Parshin (quote from Interfax).

The charter also states that when developing more functional software of the same class, companies will support the previous version for a year and limit its cost to the established ceiling.

It is specified that the charter was initiated by industry associations. Developers such as Kaspersky Lab, MyOffice, 1C and others joined the document. According to representatives of the associations, the charter is necessary for the interests of companies and their clients, and it also demonstrates the social responsibility of business.

About the development of the “Price charter of socially responsible IT-business” became known in the beginning of May. Kommersant then wrote with reference to the document that the charter would be valid until the end of 2028. Last year, according to large software consumers, prices for Russian software increased by 30-50% over the year. The publication wrote that industry sources strongly criticize the creation of such a document, although in official comments the idea of ​​\u200b\u200blimiting price increases through self-regulation is generally supported. Among the arguments against this initiative is the slowdown in the development of digital products when the threshold is introduced.