FAS has drafted a bill with fines for companies for raising prices

If the bill passes, companies will be fined for increasing prices by up to 30% for up to 60 days, as long as the price increase is not due to economic reasons.

These reasons include, in particular, sharp changes in demand or supply of goods, the cost of raw materials or components, as well as seasonal factors.

At the same time, FAS proposes to the government to approve the list of products to which this standard will apply.

Regarding the validity of price increases, the service will determine it based on data from the Ministry of Economic Development. The document proposes issuing warnings to companies, and if they ignore them, taking legal action.

If an unreasonable price increase is recorded, the FAS proposes to impose fines on companies of up to 0.03% of the amount of revenue from the sale of goods.

The service itself stated that the law is temporary and not permanent. If adopted, it will be valid until the end of 2024.

The newspaper’s government source confirmed that the cabinet had received the document.

According to Rosstat, in October 2023, chicken meat prices increased on average across the country by almost 27%. The average cost of chicken eggs across the country has increased by almost 24% compared to October last year.

In this sense, Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko ordered measures aimed at increasing domestic production of chicken meat and eggs.

In early August, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that it did not see any preconditions for food prices to rise in Russia. The department then predicted a drop in prices for meat products.