It is reported that the "Regulations on the Production and Circulation of Tobacco Products and Raw Materials in Russia" passed the second and third readings in the State Duma. From March 1st. It means that from September this year, Russian e-cigarettes have fully entered the "e-cigarette license era". It is mentioned that the production, storage and supply of tobacco and nicotine-containing products and their raw materials, the import and export of these products and raw materials, and the purchase of these products for sale in stores all require legal authorization.

Its documents require that from September 1, 2023, the requirements for applying for licenses will be implemented, including the registration of major technical equipment, and economic entities will need to obtain the required operating licenses. The law stipulates that the production and distribution activities of tobacco, nicotine products and raw materials need to be licensed, and requires the registration and preservation of production equipment to prevent the illegal use of equipment. It can also be seen that this move is also an act of Russia to regulate e-cigarettes. The law aims to improve the legal framework for national supervision of the production and circulation of Russian tobacco products, nicotine products and production raw materials, and is based on the "e-cigarette license system" Establish dedicated regulatory controls in this area.

Special mention of "mandatory registration" to prevent the inflow of illegal production!

The Russian e-cigarette circulation regulations mention that in order to prevent the production of illegal tobacco products, nicotine products and raw materials, the law proposes requirements for major technical equipment and requires mandatory national registration.

At the same time, the turnover is regulated. In order to calculate the production volume and turnover of tobacco products, the document stipulates the use of the national information system to monitor the turnover of mandatory labeling and identification goods (GIS MT).

Regulated by the "Russian Alcohol and Tobacco Regulatory Agency"!

Russia stipulates that the law gives the "Russian Alcohol and Tobacco Regulatory Agency" control and regulatory authority over the production and distribution of tobacco products, nicotine products and raw materials. To do this, the number of staff in the Alcohol Tobacco Regulatory Agency needs to be increased.

According to the agency's estimates, an additional 40.886 million rubles will be required annually from the federal budget, which is mentioned in the financial-economic statement of the document.

Shipping quantities are limited.

Russian law emphasizes and amends the limits on the quantity of goods allowed for transport by individuals within Russia without product identification.

Implement control over circulation.

For example, prohibiting the sale of goods that are not mandatoryly marked by means of identification, or that do not have the necessary information in GIS MT for such goods. Cabinet will also approve procedures requiring participants to have mandatory identification labels.

At the same time, a dedicated state control will be introduced in this area based on the "Honest Mark" marking system. The Russian government mentioned that it will review the information included in the national commodity circulation monitoring information system, or the situation in which the sale of goods lacking the information required by the system is prohibited, and will determine the procedure for implementing the ban.

According to the implementation time period of Russian law, licenses will be required in September this year, and illegal circulation products will be supervised and seized in March next year. The Russian document also explicitly mentions two time periods:

1. From September 1, 2023, the requirements for applying for a license will be implemented, including the registration of main technical equipment, which will allow economic entities to obtain the required operating license.

2. Starting from March 1, 2024, regulations on national supervision and seizure of illegally circulated products and equipment, as well as requirements for production and circulation records of products and raw materials will be implemented. From the same date, the ban on the sale of nicotine-containing products below the minimum price set by the Council of Ministers will also come into force. Meanwhile, the State Duma passed a law increasing fines for selling e-cigarettes to minors.

From this point of view, Russia’s implementation rules for e-cigarettes have gradually surfaced, and it has also adopted similar regulations on the alcohol market. In the future, the crackdown on illegal entry of e-cigarettes will become more and more severe, and the control will also be tightened!