Permanent fixation

Hairsprays and nail polish removers will finally get rid of the status of alcoholic products

The perfume and chemical industries may soon begin to celebrate their final victory over the Unified State Automated Information System and the “alcoholic products” label attached to perfumes. By the second reading in the State Duma of the amendments that remove perfumes and cosmetics from the law on the regulation of alcohol-containing products, deputies will try to remove restrictions on some items of household chemicals that are not suitable for ingestion, now also considered “alcohol.” Chemicals made from poisonous alcohols, such as methyl alcohol, on the contrary, will be brought under the law. It is also possible that in the near future a decision will be made on the possible removal of alcohols used in the tobacco industry from the scope of the Unified State Automated Information System.

Perfume products, which were subject to relicensing and the Unified State Automated Information System, along with food alcohol, actually still cannot be legally shipped from warehouses: the wholesale trade of alcohol-containing perfume products and household chemicals was practically paralyzed. Only the largest perfume sellers were able to purchase alcohol licenses. From July 1, all perfumes and cosmetics containing alcohol - perfumes, colognes, deodorants, hair sprays, nail polish remover, facial toners - were subject to mandatory relicensing from July 1. Since the start of the alcohol license, not only popular perfume brands have disappeared from store shelves, but also hairsprays.

In early November, deputies tried to rid the perfume industry of costs. In the first reading, the bill on removing perfumery and cosmetic products from the law on state regulation of the production of ethyl alcohol was adopted surprisingly unanimously. Precisely one that physically and economically cannot be used for food purposes - for example, gels, creams or perfumes costing several thousand rubles. The deputies decided that expensive products should not be subject to licensing (the cost of such products should 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 milliliters, and the content of aromatic substances is not less than 4 %), products bottled in “samples”, aerosols and alcohol-containing cosmetics with mechanical sprayers, such as hairspray, aftershave lotion and eau de toilette. For unlicensed alcohol-containing non-food products that have cream, gel, ointment-like and solid consistency, the ethyl alcohol content in the finished product is set at a level of at least 20%.

By the second reading, deputies intend to expand and clarify the list of household chemical goods that are not subject to the law on alcohol circulation. The fact is that the amendments introduce license-free circulation of such goods only if they are produced in accordance with national standards and technical regulations, but the regulations themselves have not been developed. The terminology used in the bill will also be clarified, for example, what is the “inner diameter of a container.” Additionally, deputies propose to introduce methyl and isopryl alcohol under the law, since it is these alcohols that make up antiseptics, windshield washer fluids, and liquids for making fires, from which home-made alcohol is made.

The State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism does not rule out that, in parallel with the consideration of the “perfume” amendments, a “political” decision may be made regarding the withdrawal of aromatic alcohols used in the production of cigarettes from the Unified State Automated Information System. Forcing tobacco factories to install alcohol meters in their production resembles an absurd comedy: all the alcohol evaporates during the production of cigarettes, and it is not in the final product, which cannot be adequately reflected in the EGAIS system. True, the developer of the Unified State Automated Information System - FSUE STC "Atlas" - recently promised to submit software to the Federal Tax Service that would solve this problem without resorting to amending the law. However, no one has seen this program yet.

Irina SKLYAROVA