The government commission approved an experiment on online wine sales through the Russian Post

Yesterday, April 3, the Government Commission on Legislative Activities approved the bills prepared by the Ministry of Finance on testing the Internet trade in Russian wine through the Russian Post. This was reported RBC in the press services of the government and the Ministry of Finance. The experiment is scheduled to run from November 1, 2023 to July 31, 2026. Residents of Moscow and the Moscow region will be able to buy wine remotely.

As part of the experiment, online trading will be allowed only for Russian still, sparkling and fortified wine, it will be possible to buy it on a special website of the Russian Post. The list of producers, whose wine will be sold, should be compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture. The Russian Post will deliver the wine to a specific address or to the post office specified by the buyer. Delivery will be possible no earlier than 24 hours after the order. You can get alcohol only with a passport, and identity confirmation will be possible through the Unified Identification and Authentication System (used at the State Services).

Comments on the draft law were, in particular, from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Health, Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Digital Development. According to the conclusion of Alexei Uvarov, deputy head of the government apparatus, the Ministry of Finance presented a “reasoned position” on the comments, and the government apparatus came to the conclusion that they “are mainly of an editorial and legal-technical nature.”

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) also made comments on the project. In its conclusion, the FAS, referring to the opinion of the ten largest market participants, spoke about the possible negative consequences of choosing a single delivery operator, and also criticized the impossibility of trading on winemakers’ online platforms. The Ministry of Finance clarified that with the current ban on the online sale of alcohol in Russia, the conditions for the experiment are determined only at the direction of the president and cannot go beyond it.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance specified that before being submitted to the State Duma, the draft law would be considered at a government meeting. He did not name a specific date. The press service of the Russian Post told RBC that they are preparing their infrastructure to launch an experiment to sell wine and are “in constant dialogue” with the industry, experts and winemakers. “Post” expects that “the project will have a positive impact on the popularity of Russian wines.”

In 2022, Russian Post CEO Maxim Akimov reported that in April 2023 it was planned to launch a wine trade project. However, later the state-owned company clarified that the indicated deadlines relate to the project with bonded warehouses, which the company will open planned this year. It was assumed that they would store imported goods without making customs payments.

Laura Keffer