Russians will be required to confirm their identity when purchasing SIM cards – Kommersant
The Ministry of Digital Development has prepared a draft law on changing the rules for the provision of mobile communications services related to the law on restrictions on the purchase of SIM cards signed by the President of the Russian Federation on August 8. The department proposed introducing mandatory verification of identity when concluding a contract for mobile communications services. The draft published on the federal portal of draft legal acts.
According to the draft, citizens will have to confirm their identity using the State Services portal, a passport, biometrics, or through an organization authorized by the Cabinet of Ministers, which is planned to be determined later. Foreign citizens will be able to go through the procedure only using biometrics.
The Ministry may also require telecom operators to notify subscribers about exceeding the limit on the number of SIM cards. According to the signed law, foreigners can register no more than 10 numbers, Russians can have no more than 20 SIM cards. If subscribers do not reduce the number of numbers during the transition period, their mobile services will be limited for all numbers. Russian citizens will have to reduce the number of numbers to the permissible limit by November 1, 2025, and foreigners - by July 1, 2025.
It is planned to change the rules for paying for mobile services in cash. The Ministry of Digital Development has proposed that cash payments should be possible only at organizations authorized by the government and only upon confirmation of the payer's identity.
The limit on the number of SIM cards was introduced to strengthen the fight against the grey SIM card market. For this purpose, the Ministry of Digital Development also discussed with telecom operators the possibility of introducing criminal liability for employees of communication stores if they violate the rules for registering new subscribers.
Read more in the Kommersant article "SIM cards are registered with the management company"
