Retail chains accused markets of inflating product prices

The letters were sent by the Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical and Computer Equipment (RATEK), the Association of Animated Films, the Association of Companies in the Children’s Goods Industry (AIDT), the Association of Computer and Technology Companies of Information (APKIT), the Association of Brand Manufacturers “Rusbrand” and the Direct Sales Association.

In messages to officials, these organizations stated that the markets discriminate against traditional retail participants, sellers and buyers, as they prioritize the promotion of their own brands (private labels), unjustifiably inflate prices and fines, contribute to the spread of fakes and violate intellectual property rights on product cards and other violations.

The companies included in these associations asked the authorities to accept several of their proposals when preparing the draft law “On the platform economy.” The authors of the letters proposed forcing marketplaces to disclose pricing algorithms, introducing the concept of discrimination against partners and customers and prohibiting the prioritization of private brands when setting prices or displaying products on a website.

In addition, companies believe that exchanges should be forced to transmit data containing signs of fragmentation to tax authorities, and liability should be established for violating this requirement. It is also proposed to set the minimum area of ​​the order collection point (POP) at 25 square meters. m and grant regional authorities the right to establish the maximum number of such points in the region.

Opinion of representatives of online platforms.

The Association of Digital Platforms (ADP, which brings together Avito, Wildberries, Ozon, Cooper and Yandex) insists that the traditional trade regulation model should not be applied to online platforms, and the draft law “On the economy of platforms” already takes into account the particularities of their regulation.

The ADC noted that the measures proposed by the companies are redundant and have already been rejected by regulators in previously discussed bills. Furthermore, many initiatives have already been implemented in practice; For example, markets are participating in a fiscal pilot for information exchange with sites, the association added.

• The head of the Ministry of Energy, Maxim Reshetnikov, announced at the end of September that Russia is drawing up a single bill for all digital platforms.
• The bill “On the Platform Economy” will regulate the activities of online intermediary platforms, including not only traditional marketplaces, but also taxi aggregators, food delivery services and other platforms.
• At the end of November, Vedomosti wrote that the Ministry of Energy proposed imposing fines for violating the future law. The initial fine for officials and companies is planned to be 20,000 to 40,000 rubles and 100,000 to 500,000 rubles, respectively.