The rules for entering Russian software into the state register may change

As Kommersant learned, the Ministry of Digital Development and Russian software suppliers are agreeing on new rules for the operation of the register of Russian software, whose participants receive preferences in government procurement. Two categories will appear in the register. One will include suppliers who will prove a “sufficient level of processing” of software based on open source components, ensure compatibility with Russian processors and browsers, and provide user training. They will be able to enjoy all the preferences. The software of the second part of the register will retain only tax benefits. The changes are planned to come into force in the first quarter of 2024.

According to two Kommersant interlocutors in the IT market, the Ministry of Digital Development and specialized software associations have prepared new rules according to which Russian software developers will be able to receive preferences in government procurement. We are talking about introducing amendments to government resolutions 325 and 1236 (regulating the inclusion of software in the register of domestic software). In essence, the registry will be divided into two parts – software that meets the new additional requirements, and that which does not meet them. Software from the first category will receive preferences in the government procurement market, and its copyright holder will receive tax and non-tax benefits, from the second – only benefits, for example, a zero VAT rate.

The copyright holder claiming preferences in the government procurement market will have to prove that its software is compatible with one of the Russian processors, works correctly with domestic browsers, and the developer himself is able to “provide full technical support for users, and also has his own or rented infrastructure for training users to work with with your software.” For each category of software (DBMS, operating systems, office suites, etc.) additional requirements will also be put forward.

The head of TsKIKT Ilya Massukh clarifies that only companies that are able to update their software from resources located in Russia will receive preferences in government procurement: “Those who develop software based on open source will have to use either their code repository for updates, or a repository owned by other Russian companies or associations.”

According to the current rules, for software to be included in the register, its copyright holder must be registered in the Russian Federation, the share of ownership of Russians in the company must be 50%, and the amount of payments to foreign copyright holders must not exceed 30%. Additional software requirements are established by Resolution 325. The current version of the document does not contain requirements regarding open source processing, compatibility with domestic processors, etc.

The executive director of the Domestic Soft association, Renat Lashin, confirmed to Kommersant that the organization is working on preparing the document. He clarified that software applying for inclusion in the register will be checked to determine how deeply the company has processed the open source components: “If the depth of processing is sufficient, the software will receive additional preferences in government procurement over other software from the register.” The Ministry of Digital Development also confirmed the development of the initiative; the changes may come into force in the first quarter of 2024.

Over the past few years, Russian developers have repeatedly accused each other that their software is not sufficiently redesigned and, in fact, cannot be considered domestic. Thus, in June 2021, representatives of “Domestic Software” demanded that minimally modified open source solutions not be allowed into the register, citing as an example the AlterOffice office packages of the vendor “Almi Partner” (see “Kommersant” dated June 17, 2021). In November, the owner of the Aurora mobile OS, Rostelecom, asked the Ministry of Digital Development to check the legality of including the Red Soft OS, which is based on the open source Android, in the register of domestic software (see Kommersant on November 22).

Meanwhile, the general director of Almi Partner, Mikhail Lebedev, considers the planned changes timely: “The Russian market is in a mature state, and vendors applying for government orders must prove their ability to develop and support products.”

However, Roman Smirnov, commercial director of Develonica (Softline Group of Companies), emphasizes that determining the depth of processing of open source products is a difficult task, since the assessment principles are unclear: “For example, we took an open source bus and increased its performance tenfold by changing 3% of the lines code. On the one hand, the amount of changed code is minimal, on the other hand, we improve the quality of the product by adjusting it to the standards of domestic solutions.” First of all, the expert is sure, the code “should solve business problems, and how it is written is the next question.”

Nikita Korolev