The Association of Retail Companies (AKORT) spoke out against allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages online, RBC reports. Members of the organization contacted the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and expressed concern about the mooted initiative to legalize the sale of alcohol online.
It was previously reported that the bill, which is designed to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages on online platforms, had been finalized. It is scheduled to be presented to the State Duma this fall.
AKORT, which includes X5 Group, Lenta, Azbuka Vkusa, Magnit and other networks, stated that the legalization of online alcohol sales will lead to the growth of the illegal market. The association believes that online alcohol sales remain a “weakly controlled and high-risk sales channel”, which can create risks for consumers.
They insist that such a measure is not necessary, since today Russians have many opportunities to safely buy alcohol in stores.
AKORT reminded us of an option that is available on most large networks. The customer can order alcohol online on the retailer’s website and pick it up himself in the store, confirming his age.
Furthermore, the organization points out that today there are no effective mechanisms to block the online sale of illegal and counterfeit products. The letter to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce mentions that in the last three years the number of websites selling low-quality alcoholic beverages has doubled.
In 2022 alone, Rosalkogolregulirovanie blocked 6.8 thousand online resources offering alcohol delivery. But at the same time, the number of so-called mirrors and related Internet sites in case of possible blocking has increased by 70%.
The bill, which may be presented to the Duma during the current session, aims to allow online trading and delivery of alcohol. However, several departments are in disagreement over the provisions of the future law. The Ministry of Finance, for example, wants to assign responsibility for sales exclusively to the place where said products are sold. However, FAS believes that all sales participants must take responsibility.
About a third of Russians would like to be able to order alcoholic beverages online subject to a number of conditions, a previous survey showed.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
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