The Federation Council returned to the idea of ​​introducing payments to Russian Post from marketplaces

The head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, Andrei Kutepov, at the end of January sent Deputy Prime Minister and White House Chief of Staff Dmitry Grigorenko a new bill on introducing an infrastructure payment from marketplaces to Russian Post in the amount of 0.5% of their quarterly turnover. In 2023, this idea was not supported by the government. The text of the amendments is available RBC. Mr. Grigorenko’s office confirmed to the publication that it had received a letter from the senator.

Mr. Kutepov justified the initiative with an order from the Chairman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, dated December 29, 2023, in which she asked to prepare proposals for the financial rehabilitation of Russian Post, taking into account the need to preserve the company’s divisions in the regions, the publication reports.

As RBC reports, the senator, in order to improve the financial recovery of Russian Post, also proposed:

• assign the company the status of a federal guaranteeing supplier of e-commerce goods;
• through government capital investments, develop the infrastructure of Russian Post, provide it with financial, logistical and technical assistance, and also provide loans;
• create a register of marketplaces with a turnover of more than 1 billion rubles. per year, establish a requirement for them to provide quarterly information on trade volume and ensure delivery to any locality in the Russian Federation (in particular, through an agreement with Russian Post).

The explanatory note states that the infrastructure payment would support the work of 27 thousand branches of the company in hard-to-reach settlements. Previously, Russian Post called these branches unprofitable. Taking into account the turnover of the three largest marketplaces in the Russian Federation, the size of the payment in 2023 could amount to 21 billion rubles, and in 2030 grow to 50 billion rubles, the document says.

“This issue is currently being studied by the federal executive authorities. The position on this appeal will be formed taking into account the positions of the interested ministries,” a representative of the Deputy Prime Minister’s office told RBC.

In May 2023, 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 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.

September 25, 2023 Valentina Matvienko reported, 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.” Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev in October offered direct infrastructure payments from marketplaces to cover part of the losses and repairs of Russian Post branches in small localities.

About proposals to support a state-owned company – in the Kommersant material “Receive it, sign it”.

Erdni Kagaltynov