The government did not support the idea of ​​gifts to officials worth up to 10,000 rubles

The government has prepared a response to the bill of parliamentarians, which proposes to allow deputies and officials to receive handicrafts worth up to 10,000 rubles as a gift. Vedomosti got acquainted with the document.

The initiative was introduced to the Duma last December by Senator Pavel Tarakanov and deputy Nikolai Brykin (United Russia). They proposed to amend part 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, supplementing Article 575 (“Prohibition of Gifts”) with a provision according to which persons holding public positions (including in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation), municipal positions, as well as civil servants, municipal employees and employees of the Bank Russia will be able to receive gifts, “the value of which reaches 10,000 rubles.”

This applies only to gifts that are registered as handicrafts. In other cases, the maximum value of the gift should not exceed 3,000 rubles. (this amount is now allowed).

The authors explained that the level of cumulative inflation “from 2008 to June 2022 amounted to about 190%, there was a significant increase in the cost of consumables and wages for manufacturers of handicrafts, which in turn led to an increase in the cost of products.”

The purpose of the project is to support the industry of folk art crafts, it was noted in the explanatory note. The market for gifts for official and symbolic purposes is quite significant for manufacturers of such products, and their relative low material cost “virtually excludes corruption risks,” MPs said.

The Cabinet of Ministers recalls in its response that state civil servants are prohibited from receiving remuneration from individuals and legal entities (gifts, monetary remuneration, loans, services, payment for entertainment, recreation, transportation costs and other remuneration) in connection with the performance of official duties.

The legislation allows officials to receive gifts, regardless of their value, in connection with protocol events, business trips and other official events. Gifts, the value of which exceeds 3,000 rubles, are recognized as state or municipal property and are transferred by an official for safekeeping to the body in which the specified person fills the position. At the same time, in some cases, the purchase of gifts is carried out at the expense of the budgets of the budget system of the Russian Federation.

Thus, the changes proposed by the bill will not allow achieving the stated goal – support for the industry of folk arts and crafts, the conclusion is made in the review. In addition, it is reported that in accordance with the federal project “Development of the industry of socially significant goods”, organizations of folk arts and crafts included in the list provided for by the law “On folk arts and crafts” are provided with a subsidy from the federal budget.