Translated material
Cosmetic measures
Perfumes were removed from state alcohol control
State Duma deputies tried to solve the alcohol problem in at least one of its components yesterday. The Lower House on Wednesday adopted in the first reading a United Russia bill on removing perfumes and cosmetics from the law on state regulation of the production of ethyl alcohol.Today, all perfumes and cosmetics containing alcohol - perfumes, colognes, deodorants, hairsprays and other alcohol-containing non-food products - fall under the scandalous alcohol law Federal Law No. 102, which introduces the EGAIS system and re-licensing of alcoholic products. The authors of the amendments proposed to exclude the vast majority of names of perfume products from the mandatory licensing list, but not all. Clear requirements are established according to which a particular type of non-food alcohol-containing product or cosmetic product is excluded from the scope of the law. The cost of such products must be at least twice the excise tax rate on alcohol, provided that the volume fraction of ethyl alcohol is over 25% in a container of no more than 1 thousand ml. The content of fragrant substances must be at least 4%. For alcohol-containing non-food products that have a creamy-gel-mastic and solid consistency, the ethyl alcohol content in the finished product must be at least 20%. Also, products that have mechanical sprayers - such as hairspray, aftershave lotion and eau de toilette - will not be subject to the law on state regulation of ethyl alcohol.
According to Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy Alexei Likhachev, new amendments have been written to the amendments already adopted for the second reading. In particular, there is a proposal to introduce methyl and isopryl alcohol under the law, since it is on the basis of these alcohols that those products are produced (in particular, antiseptics, windshield washer fluids, liquids for making fires) from which home-made alcohol is made, leading to poisoning. It is almost impossible to distinguish between these alcohols - ethyl and poisonous methyl and isopryl alcohols smell approximately the same.
Perfumers, however, have one more surprise in store that will not please them. In the near future, state supervision over the storage and production of alcohol-containing products, including varnishes, paints and perfumes, will be strengthened. The head of Rostekhnadzor, Konstantin Pulikovsky, signed an order according to which all warehouses and production facilities where alcohol and alcohol-containing products are stored or manufactured will be checked for compliance with environmental requirements.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance, whose official, namely Deputy Minister Sergei Shatalov, was recently named as one of the culprits of the alcohol crisis, prepared a letter to the government outlining its vision of solving the alcohol problem in the country. Firstly, this is the idea of establishing a uniform minimum price for a bottle of vodka throughout the country. If a bottle of vodka costs less than the estimated price, calculated taking into account the payment of all taxes, then such a bottle can definitely be considered counterfeit. True, the financial department cannot yet name the minimum price. Secondly, it is proposed to increase excise taxes on alcohol-containing liquids.
As noted in the letter from the Ministry of Finance, the illegal trade in ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products is primarily due to the high tax component in the retail price. The excise tax on ethyl alcohol for 2007 is set at 162 rubles. per liter, which means that the price of a bottle of vodka is 32.4 rubles. If we impose excise taxes on manufacturers of perfumery and medical products, this will make the underground production of alcohol from glass cleaning liquids unprofitable, according to the Ministry of Finance. Finally, the Ministry of Finance also proposes to provide for liability for the production and sale of illegal alcoholic products and introduce additional punishment under the Criminal Code for evading registration in the Unified State Automated Information System (EGAIS).
Meanwhile, the business community is ready to support the Ministry of Finance’s proposal to introduce a minimum price level for alcohol. “This will reduce the share of surrogate and counterfeits. Normal vodka cannot be priced below a certain level,” said the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, yesterday, adding that the Ministry of Finance’s proposal is a “soft market mechanism.” At the same time, the RSPP is very skeptical about another innovation - the introduction of a state monopoly on the sale of alcoholic beverages, which is actively promoted in the Duma by United Russia. According to Alexander Shokhin, “now it is important not to replace one administrative failure with another - strengthening administrative regulation.” The logic of the supporters of this idea is to solve problems by introducing a state monopoly, but the problems arose due to the fact that the state itself did not cope with the task it had chosen to automate the accounting system and reduce the amount of counterfeit goods, he says.