A working group under the government called for the abolition of beer labeling

A working group under the government has recognized the requirement to label beer as redundant.

According to RBC, a working group under the government advocated the abolition of the mandatory requirement for labeling beer drinks. Earlier, the Union of Brewers appealed to the President, saying that the mandatory labeling of beer "paralyzes" the industry.

The working group under the government commission for the implementation of the "regulatory guillotine" recognized the requirement for labeling beer drinks as redundant, according to the minutes of the meeting dated August 19 (available to RBC). The authenticity of the document was confirmed to RBC by two members of the working group.

As follows from the minutes, the majority of those who voted supported the abolition of the mandatory requirement for labeling brewing products and fermented drinks (cider, poiret, mead) with means of identification. A small number of participants voted in favor of postponing the labeling requirement.

The requirement to start labeling is contained in the list of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The revision of the mandatory requirements that come into effect from September 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024 is carried out on behalf of the curator of the reform of control and supervision activities, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko.

The representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade specified that the mandatory requirements for labeling by the department were not included in the list of mandatory requirements and were presented by the Analytical Center under the government. He pointed out that the submission of the draft norms for consideration within the framework of the meeting of the working group is contrary to Grigorenko's instructions, since the government's order to include beer and fermented drinks in the list of goods subject to mandatory labeling does not contain any mandatory requirements for labeling beer with identification means, nor the deadlines for entry by virtue of such mandatory requirements. The agency asked the Analytical Center for a rationale for including the draft resolution on the agenda of the meeting and making a decision by the working group on alcoholic products.

RBC turned to Dmitry Grigorenko's office for comments.

A representative of the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT) also said that the government, which approved the list of goods subject to labeling, included beer, but without an exact date for the introduction of mandatory labeling. “It will be approved later. In this regard, the issue of beer labeling cannot be the subject of consideration by the working group on the regulatory guillotine, since to date there has not been a government decree with an approved deadline for the introduction of such labeling, ”said RBC’s interlocutor.

The minutes of the meeting contain a dissenting opinion of the co-chairman of the working group Ilya Lomakin-Rumyantsev, in which he indicates that Grigorenko's demand provided for the obligation to “form lists of mandatory requirements contained in regulatory legal acts and coming into force from September 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024.

“The requirement under consideration does not come into force from September 1, 2022 and may not come into force until 2025 if such a decision is made based on the results of the experiment,” Lomakin-Rumyantsev was quoted in the document. He believes that before the completion of the experiment, without "a thorough analysis of its results, without clarifying the position of all parties involved in the experiment, without taking into account all the consequences for business and the state," the decision to cancel the mandatory requirement is hardly justified.

The government included beer in the list of products for digital labeling in January 2022. The experiment on the labeling of beer and low-alcohol drinks has been going on since April 1, 2021 and should end on August 31, 2022. During the first month, 95 companies joined the experiment, including 60 manufacturers, which account for 17% of the market.

The Association of Beer Producers has previously warned that due to labeling requirements, as early as September 1, there may be disruptions in the supply of draft beer to public catering outlets. At the end of 2022, supply problems may begin in relation to other market segments, they noted. According to the association, suppliers of marking equipment will not be able to meet the needs of the market by the deadline, in addition, due to the introduction of labeling, final prices for goods and subsequently the share of the illegal market may increase.

After that, President Vladimir Putin instructed to additionally analyze the socio-economic consequences of the introduction of mandatory requirements and the possible costs for entrepreneurs.

RBC reported at the end of July that the Ministry of Industry and Trade had reached an agreement with the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies and the Association of Beer Producers that digital labeling of beer products in Russia would begin on April 1 next year. According to the draft, labeling will become mandatory for beer in kegs from April 1, 2023, for beer in glass or polymer packaging - from October 1, 2023, and for beer in aluminum containers - from January 15, 2024.

Reference:

The labeling of goods in Russia started in 2019, by 2024 the authorities plan to introduce a continuous labeling system. This is necessary to combat the spread of low-quality products and counterfeit goods.

Marking is carried out using the national system "Honest Sign". Its operator is CRPT, a joint project of Alisher Usmanov's USM Holdings, Rostec State Corporation and Alexander Galitsky's Elvis Plus Group.

Source: https://www.rbc.ru