06 July 2011, 18:27 Business

Beer was not welcome

The State Duma prohibits the sale of beer in stalls

Rustem Falyakhov The State Duma prohibits the sale of alcohol at night, you will not be able to buy beer in stalls and kiosks, and you will be fined for drinking in courtyards, entrances and on staircase landings. Amendments to the law on state regulation of the production and circulation of alcohol in Russia have collapsed the shares of transnational beer corporations. Russian entrepreneurs are waiting for the collapse of retail kiosks.

Amendments to the law “On state regulation of the production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products” were initiated by the government and adopted in the first reading in February. To the second reading procedure, 151 amendments were received from deputies, 33 of which were recommended for adoption by the relevant committee on economic policy and entrepreneurship.

On Wednesday, the State Duma adopted the amendments in the second reading. The main thing is that beer is recognized as alcohol. A restriction is being introduced on the sale of alcoholic beverages with a strength of more than 0.5%, including beer, from 11 pm to 8 am local time.

It is proposed to establish a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages at public transport stops (including metro stations), at wholesale and retail markets, at train stations, airports, gas stations, military facilities, other places of public gatherings of citizens and places where sources of increased danger, as well as in non-stationary retail facilities - stalls, auto shops, kiosks.

According to Vladimir Spirin, deputy head of Rosalkogolregulirovanie, now in the regions every second gas station sells alcohol as a related product.

The list of places where alcoholic beverages will not be consumed has been expanded. These are courtyards, entrances, stairs, landings, elevators, playgrounds, parks, public gardens, city gardens, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, beaches and other recreation areas.

A ban on advertising alcohol containing more than 0.5% on all types of transport is being introduced. Advertising of alcohol is permitted only in special publications and sales areas specializing in their sale.

The President intervened. For the third year in a row, deputies have been trying to tighten the law on the production and circulation of alcohol, adopted in 2005. Last year the government became involved in this process. The joint product of lawmaking by deputies and officials passed the first reading procedure in February. It was assumed that as early as July 1, a ban on the night sale of strong drinks and the sale of beer in kiosks would be introduced. But the president intervened. At the end of March, Dmitry Medvedev demanded that amendments to the law be finalized. The restrictions and bans proposed by the government are not enough to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages and beer in Russia, especially among young people, the president decided. A working group was created to finalize government amendments.

There will also be changes in taxation. A single excise tax rate will be established on ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products.

But by the second reading, the ban on the use of plastic containers for dispensing beer, which was previously contained in the bill, was removed. In addition, beer producers will not work in the EGAIS system.

An amendment was finalized giving Rosalkogolregulirovanie the right to revoke the license of an alcohol seller without a court decision.

One of the authors of the amendments, deputy Viktor Zvagelsky , claims that an exhaustive list of grounds for revoking a license has been compiled: sale of alcohol at night, sale to underage buyers, sale of vodka at a price lower than recommended by the authorities. The latter requirement is explained by the fight against cheap counterfeit products.

“Now Rosalkogolregulirovanie will not be able to confiscate licenses because, for example, a retailer has a fire extinguisher hanging crookedly. There will be no amateur performances,” explains Zvagelsky.

By the second reading, the norm that prohibits individual entrepreneurs from selling alcohol at retail was also abandoned. The government did not support her.

The proposal to license beer products with an ethyl alcohol content of 0.5% or higher also did not pass.

The adopted amendments suggest that any drinks stronger than 0.5% should be classified as alcoholic products, including kvass and kefir. But Zvagelsky says the government will draw up a list of non-alcoholic food products containing alcohol.

Alcohol producers have an extremely negative assessment of the adopted amendments. A ban on the sale of all alcoholic products at night will lead to an increase in surrogate alcohol consumption by the population and the formation of an alcohol market at night, believes Vladimir Antonov , general director of the Ochakovo MPBK .

“In addition, legislators clearly did not take into account that small retail accounts for 25-30% of Russian beer sales. Because of this norm, not only the small retail business itself will suffer losses, but also brewing companies,” says Antonov.

Nikolai Khanchenya, coordinator of the all-Russian movement “For a Fair Market,” believes that equating beer with alcohol and removing it from stalls and tents is “a collapse for small businesses.” According to his estimates, the share of beer in the turnover of trade kiosks ranges from 25% to 50%, depending on the location.

“It is now unrealistic to redirect trade to other types of goods. The market is stable. There are vegetable stalls and bread stalls. Replacing beer with other goods means squeezing out a neighbor, an equally small entrepreneur. Many will go bankrupt,” the entrepreneur believes.

Khachenya calls the argument of the authors of the bill that it is necessary to exclude the availability of alcohol and, in particular, beer to the population as “propaganda.” “The problem is not accessibility, but people’s lack of prospects, widespread poverty. There is practically nothing to do in the evening. Buying a ticket to a theater or even a movie is an unaffordable luxury. Going to the seaside is expensive,” says Khanchenya.

But business is pleased with the refusal of deputies to introduce licensing for beer production. This would lead to an increase in the cost of beer, a decrease in profitability and a reduction in the tax base, Antonov argues.

Zvagelsky believes that the abolition of licensing for the beer industry is a temporary victory for the beer lobby. “You can’t even call this a victory. We are introducing declaration of production volumes and counters for recording production volumes for the beer industry. Rosalkogolregulirovanie has the opportunity to control the industry even without issuing licenses,” the deputy is confident.

International investors are pessimistic about the prospects of beer corporations on the Russian market. The securities of the Carlsberg concern, which is active in Russia, fell by 4.2% at trading in Copenhagen on Wednesday, to 546 Danish kroner per share.