RuStore preset raises questions – Kommersant FM
[ad_1]
The Russian smartphone market is at risk of losing some of the equipment supplied through parallel imports. As Kommersant FM found out, this can be caused by the mandatory pre-installation of the RuStore application on smartphones that are sold in the country. The corresponding resolution was approved by the government at the end of August. At the same time, the message did not specify how the requirements will be implemented. How serious problems threaten the industry? Details – at Alexander Mezentsev.
The domestic analogue of the App Store and Google Play was launched in 2022 after foreign app stores began to remove Russian programs. At the end of August, the government approved a decree obliging RuStore to be pre-installed on devices sold in the country. But there is a nuance, says Anton Guskov, Director of Public Relations of the Association of Trading Companies and Commodity Producers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK):
“If earlier it was possible to install the RuStore store application in three ways – a graphic image, a dialog box or a native one – now it will have to be pre-installed in a native way, that is, on the device’s hard drive. In itself, this idea contradicts the Russian law on technical regulation and the regulations of the Eurasian Union, because this is a requirement for products, and it can only be put forward by technical regulations. I’m sure most legal companies will simply refuse to sell such devices.”
How the requirements will be implemented, the government did not specify. But Rospotrebnadzor warned retailers about liability for violations. Sellers can face a serious fine or confiscation of devices, says Alexander Logunov, managing partner of the legal agency IQ Technology:
“In cases where a retailer sells a smartphone without RuStore software pre-installed on it, a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles is envisaged. retailer or manufacturer. In the current circumstances, we understand that many electronics brands have already left the territory of Russia and closed their offices. Imposing a fine on them is absolutely useless.
Of course, Rospotrebnadzor can focus on retailers. If an individual entrepreneur who has imported this or that equipment by parallel import tries to sell it through the marketplace, for him the amount of a fine of 200 thousand rubles. deadly. And the current regulatory legal act provides that Rospotrebnadzor, after it issues an order to correct this situation, and the retailer does not correct it, has the authority to seize the equipment by a court decision.”
As retailers note, you can install RuStore manually in the store, but this will require opening the factory packaging. There is a risk that customers will then refuse to purchase smartphones. It is possible that many companies will stop supplying equipment through parallel imports. Then the business will go even more into the shadows, Anatoly Semenov, director of the Association of Parallel Imports, believes:
“In fact, they will move the entire business of manufacturing phones and gadgets into the gray area. They will just be sold by some obscure people who bought smartphones supposedly from individuals or received them on a commission, just like they have now achieved this with cars. The bulk of foreign cars are carried by individuals, that is, “shuttles”. Now the gadget market can be driven into the same situation, then they will fight smuggling through the trails of Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan.”
The Ministry of Digital Development plans to coordinate with smartphone manufacturers the pre-installation of RuStore at the stage of completing phones at factories. At a minimum, there is a chance to negotiate with Samsung, the ministry stressed.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Ъ FM”.
[ad_2]
Source link
