Federal Law No. 381-FZ "On the Basic Prinsiples of State Regulation of Trading Activities in the Russian Federation"
Type: Regulatory legal acts FAS
(non-official translation)
Adopted by the State Duma on 18th December 2009
Approved by the Federation Council on 25th December 2009
Chapter 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Objectives and Scope of this Federal Law.
1. The given Federal Law determines the basic principles of state regulation of trading activities in the Russian Federation (further on referred to as “trading activities”).
2. This Federal Law has the following objectives:
1) Ensuring unity of economic space of the Russian Federation by establishing requirements to organization and exercise of trading activities;
2) Developing trading activities to satisfy the output needs of various branches of the economy , ensure goods availability to the general public, develop competitive environment, and support domestic producers;
3) Enforcing the rights and legitimate interests of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs involved in trading activities (further on referred to as – “economic entities involved in trading activities”), entities and individual entrepreneurs, supplying produced or purchased goods, designed for use in entrepreneurial activity, including sale and resale (further on referred to as “economic entities supplying goods”), the balance of economic interests of the above economic entities, and enforcing the rights and legitimate interests of the public;
4) Delineation of powers between federal authorities, the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies in the field of regulation of trading activities.
3. This Federal Law regulates relations developing between the authorities, local self-government bodies and economic entities in course of organization and exercise of trading activities, and relations between economic entities exercising such activities.
4. Provisions of this Federal Law are not applicable to the relations developed in course of organization and exercise of
1) External trading activities;
2) Commodity exchange trade;
3) Selling goods in retail markets;
4) Buying and selling securities, real estate, technical and industrial goods, including electric power (capacity), heat power and capacity, and other types of energy resources.
5. Relations developing between economic entities involved in trading goods that are subject to limited operations, and the procedures and conditions for their sales are regulated by the federal laws on operations with such types of goods.
Article 2. The Main Concepts Used in This Federal Law
For the purposes of this Federal Law the following main concepts shall be used:
1) Trading Activities (further also referred to as “trade”) – a type of entrepreneurial activity related to purchasing and selling goods;
2) Wholesale Trade – a type of trading activities related to acquiring and selling goods to be used in entrepreneurial activity (including reselling) or for other purposes not related to personal, family, household or other similar use;
3) Retail Trade – types of trading activities related to acquiring and selling goods to be used for personal, family, household and other purposes not related to entrepreneurial activity;
4) Trading Facility – a building or a part of a building, a construction or a part of a construction, a structure or a part of a structure, specially fitted out with equipment designed and used for goods layout and demonstration, servicing buyers and settling cash payments with buyers in course of selling goods;
5) Stationary Trading Facility – a trading facility, which is a building or a part of a building, a construction or a part of a construction, inseparable from land through the base of such building or construction and connected to engineering networks;
6) Non-Stationary Trading Facility - a trading facility, which is a temporary construction or building, not inseparable from a land plot regardless whether it is connected to engineering networks, including mobile constructions;
7) Floor-space of a trading facility – premises designed for goods layout and demonstration, servicing buyers and settling cash payments with buyers in course of selling goods, and buyers passing through;
8) Trade Network - two and more trading facilities under common management or two and more trading facilities used under the same trade name or other means of differentiation;
9) Food products – natural or processed products in circulation that are used as food by humans (inducing baby food and dietary products), bottled drinking water, alcohol products, beer and beverages made on its basis, non-alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, nutritional dietary supplements.
Article 3. Legal Regulation of Relations in the field of Trading Activities
1. Relations in the field of trading activities are legally regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, this Federal Law and No. 2300-1 Law of the Russian Federation “On Protection of Consumer Rights” of 7th February 1992, other federal laws, other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation adopted in accord with the federal legislation, the laws of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, other normative legal acts of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation.
2. Relations in the field of organization of retail markets, organization and exercising activities for selling goods in retail markets, are regulated by No.271-FZ Federal Law “On Retail Markets and Introducing Changes to the Labour Code of the Russian Federation” of 30th December 2006. .
3. Local self-government bodies can pass municipal legal acts on the issues related to creating conditions for rendering trade services to the residents of a municipality, in the cases and within the scope of reference provided for by this Federal Law, other federal laws, the Executive Orders of the President of the Russian Federation, the Decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation, and the laws of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation.
Article 4. Methods of State Regulation of Trading Activities
1. State regulation of trading activities is exercised through:
1) Establishing requirements to its organization and performance;
2) Antimonopoly regulation in this filed;
3) Information support in this field;
4) State control (supervision) and municipal control in this field.
2. Methods of state regulation of trade activities not provided for by Part 1 of this Article are not allowed, except when specified by federal laws.
Article 5. Powers of the Government of the Russian Federation, Federal Executive Bodies in State Regulation of Trading Activities
1. Under this Federal Law, the Government of the Russian Federation exercises the following powers in the field of state regulation of trading activities:
1) Carrying out public policy in the field of trade activities;
2) Approving the calculation technique and procedures for establishing the standards of minimum public floor-space of trading facilities in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation;
3) Approving the technique for calculating the volume of all food products sold within the boundaries of a constituent territory of the Russian Federation, in particular, within the boundaries of the cities of federal status – Moscow and St Petersburg, within the boundaries of a municipal district or an urban district, in monetary terms for a financial year, and determining the share of all such goods sold by an economic entity involved in retail trade of such goods through a trade network (except agricultural consumer cooperatives, and organizations of consumer cooperation), within the boundaries of a relevant administrative-territorial unit in monetary terms for a financial year;
4) Other powers in the field of state regulation of trading activities provided for by this Federal Law and other federal laws.
2. The federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and drafting normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trade, has the following powers:
1) Approving the guidelines for regional trade development programmes;
2) Approving the form of the Trade Register comprising information about economic entities involved in trading activities, economic entities involved in goods delivery (except producers of goods) and on the state of trade in a constituent territory of the Russian Federation (further on referred to as the “Trade Register”), the procedures for its opening and keeping and the procedures for disclosing information from the Trade Register;
3) Participating, jointly with the authorized federal executive body exercising the function for establishing official statistical information, in determining the content of the forms for statistical reporting used in the field of trading activities and representation periods for economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities involved in goods delivery (except producers of goods);
4) Other powers provided for by this Federal Law, other federal laws, Executive Orders of the President of the Russian Federations, Decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Article 6. Powers of the Authorities of the Constituent Territories of the Russian Federation, Local Self-Government Bodies in the Field of State Regulation of Trading Activities
1. The authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation responsible for state regulation of trading activities have the following powers:
1) Implementing public policy in the field of state regulation of trading activities in the constituent territory of the Russian Federation;
2) Developing and adopting the laws of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, other normative legal acts of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation in the field of state regulation of trading activities in accordance with this Federal Law;
3) Establishing the standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public in the constituent territory of the Russian Federation;
4) Collecting information and analyzing the state of the markets of particular goods and trading activities in the relevant constituent territory of the Russian Federation;
5) Elaborating and implementing measures facilitating development of trading activities in a relevant constituent territory of the Russian Federation;
6) Other powers provided for by this Federal Law.
2. Local self-government bodies in the field of regulation of trading activities create conditions for rendering trade services to the residents of their municipalities. Such powers are exercised by local self-government bodies of the inner-city municipalities of the cities of the federal status (Moscow and St Petersburg) if the laws of these subjects of the Russian Federation define creating such conditions as a local issue.
Article 7. Participation of non-commercial organizations of economic entities, involved in trading activities, and non-commercial organizations of economic entities, involved in goods delivery, in developing and implementing public policy in the field of trading activities
1. To integrate socially important interests of economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities involved in goods delivery the federal executive body exercising the function of developing public policy and drafting normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trade engages on a voluntary basis non-commercial organizations of such economic entities to participate in development and implementation of public policy in the field of trading activities.
2. Non-commercial organizations of economic entities involved in trading activities and non-commercial organizations of economic entities involved in goods delivery can participate in developing and implementing public policy in the field of trading activities in the following forms:
1) Participate in drafting normative legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of trading activities, and regional and municipal programmes for trade development;
2) Take part in analyzing financial, economic, social and other indicators of trade development in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and municipalities, assessing efficiency of measures aimed at supporting trade, preparing estimates for trade development in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and municipalities;
3) Share Russian and foreign experience in the field of trading activities;
4) Provide information necessary to develop and implement public policy in the field of trading activities;
5) Prepare proposals for improving trading activities and forward them to the authorities and local self-government bodies;
6) Other forms of such participation provided for by this Federal Law, other federal laws, and other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation adopted in accordance with them.
Chapter 2. REQUIREMENTS TO ORGANISATION AND EXERCISE OF TRADING ACTIVITIES
Article 8. The Rights and Responsibilities of Economic Entities Involved in Trading Activities, Economic Entities Involved in Goods Supply, in Organization and Exercise of Trading Activities
1. Trading activities are exercised by economic entities, specified in this Federal Law and registered in accordance with the established procedures of the Russian Federation, unless otherwise provided for by federal laws.
2. Organizing and exercising trading activities, economic entities involved in trading activities shall independently determine, except if provided for by this Federal Law or other federal laws:
1) Type of trade (wholesale and (or) retail trade);
2) Form of trade (in stationary trading facilities, outside stationary trading facilities, including fairs, exhibitions, retail delivery trade, mobile retail trade, distance selling, sale of goods using slot machines and other forms of trade);
3Trade procedures (using trading facilities and (or) without using trading facilities);
4) Trade specialization (general trade and (or) specialized trade);
5) Type of trading facilities used in trading activities (stationary trading facilities and (or) non-stationary trading facilities);
6) Grounds for using property when exercising trading activities (the right of ownership and (or) other statutory grounds);
7) Procedures and conditions for exercising trading activities, including:
а) Range of goods;
b) Hours of operation;
c) Means and methods to sell goods;
d) Amount, type, models of technological equipment and inventory used to exercise trading activities;
e) Methods to communicate information about the seller, and goods and services to the buyers;
8) Prices of goods;
9) Forms of advertising inside the trading facility and in its windows;
10) Conditions of contracts for buying-and-selling goods, and of paid-service contracts;
11) Other procedures and conditions of trading activities.
3. The Procedures and conditions for exercising trading activities, specified in Clause 7 Part 2 of this Article, by state and municipal enterprises and trade undertakings are established by decisions of the relevant state or municipal authorities.
4. If federal executive laws provide for state regulation of prices for particular goods, trade mark-ups, surcharges for such goods (including the authorities fixing their threshold level (maximum and (or) minimum)), the prices for such goods, mark-ups (surcharges) for such goods are fixed in accordance with the above federal laws, as well as normative legal acts of the authorities and (or) normative legal acts of local self-government bodies adopted in accordance with the above federal laws.
5. If during thirty consecutive calendar days retail prices for some types of essential socially important food products increase by thirty and more percent in a particular constituent territory of the Russian Federation or constituent territories of the Russian Federation, to stabilize retail prices for such types of goods the Government of the Russian Federation can set maximum allowable retail prices for such goods within the constituent territory of the Russian Federation or the constituent territories of the Russian Federation for a period no longer than ninety calendar days.
6. The list of essential socially important food products and the procedures for fixing maximum allowable retail prices for them are established by the Government of the Russian Federation.
Article 9. The Rights and Responsibilities of Economic Entities Involved in Trading Activities, Economic Entities Involved in Goods Supply, Concluding and Executing Contracts for Supplying Food Products
1. An economic entity involved in trading activities through organization of a trade network must provide to an economic entity, that supplies food products, access to the information regarding conditions for selecting counteragents to conclude the contract for supplying food products and about essential conditions of such contracts by placing relevant information on its site in the Internet data telecommunications network or by providing requested information free-of-charge within fourteen days upon receiving such a request.
2. An economic entity involved in supplies of food products must provide to an economic entity involved in trading activities through organization of a trade network, access to the information regarding conditions for selecting counteragents to conclude the contract for supplying food products and about essential conditions of such contracts, to information about the quality and safety of the supplied food products by placing relevant information on its site in the Internet data telecommunications network or by providing requested information free-of-charge within fourteen days upon receiving such a request.
3. The price of a contract for supply of food products concluded between an economic entity, involved in supplies of food products, and an economic entity, involved in trading activities, is determined on the basis of the price of food products established by an agreement between the parties to the contract for supply of food products with due account for Parts 4 and 5 Article 8 of this Federal Law.
4. An agreement between the parties to the contract for supply of food products can provide for including in the contract price remuneration to the economic entity, involved in trading activities, as it buys from the economic entity, supplying food products, certain quantity of food products. The size of remuneration should be agreed upon by the parties to the contract, included in the contract price and shall not be factored in the price of food products. Remuneration cannot exceed ten percent of the price of the bought food products.
5. Remuneration specified in Part 4 of this Article cannot be paid when an economic entity, involved in trading activities, buys certain types of socially important goods included in the List approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
6. It is not allowed to include other types of remuneration for executing contract conditions by an economic entity, involved in trading activities, in the price of a contract for supplying food product and (or) changing the contract.
7. If an economic entity, involved in trading activities, and an economic entity, supplying food products, conclude a contract for supplying food products under the condition to pay for such goods within a given period after the goods were delivered to the economic entity, involved in trading activities, the payment period for such goods in the contract is determined under the following rules:
1) Food products with shell-life less than ten days must be paid for no later than ten working days after the date when such goods were accepted by an economic entity, involved in trading activities;
2) Food products with shell-life from ten to thirty days inclusively must be paid for no later than thirty calendar days after the date such goods were accepted by an economic entity, involved in trading activities;
3) Food products with shell-life more than thirty days, as well as alcohol products made in the Russian Federation, must be paid for no later than forty five calendar days after the date such goods were accepted by an economic entity, involved in trading activities.
8. Payment for food products within the period specified by the rules in Part 7 of this Article is made subject to an economic entity, supplying food products, executes its obligations to transfer documents related to supplies of such goods in accordance with federal laws, other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation and the contract for supplying the food products.
9. If an economic entity, supplying food products, fails to transfer or refuses to transfer the documents, which the economic entity must transfer to an economic entity, involved in trading activities, in accordance with federal laws, other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation and the contract for supplying food products, the payment period for the food products specified by the rules in Part 7 of this Article is extended by the period of presenting the above documents by the economic entity, supplying food products, upon a request of the economic entity, involved in trading activities.
10. The contract for supplying food products cannot forbid substitution of persons in the contract obligations by, as well as liability of the contract parties for non-compliance with the prohibition.
11. Services for advertising food products, marketing and similar services aimed and promoting food products, can be provided by an economic entity, involved in trading activities, on the basis of the contracts for providing such paid services.
12. Contracts for supplying food products cannot include conditions that an economic entity, involved in trading activities, should exercise particular actions with regard to the supplied food products, render services for advertising the goods, marketing and similar services aimed at promoting food products. It is not allowed to conclude contracts for supplying food products by forcing to enter into a contract for rendering paid services aimed at promoting food products.
Article 10. Specifics of Accommodating Non-Stationary Trading Facilities
1. Non-stationary trading facilities are accommodated on the plots of land, in the buildings, constructions, structures owned by the state or municipalities, in accordance with the scheme for accommodating non-stationary trading facilities, with due account of the need to ensure sustainable regional development and reach the standards for minimum provision of trading facilities to the public.
2. The procedures for including non-stationary trading facilities, located on the plots of land, in the buildings, constructions, structures owned by the state or municipalities, in the accommodation scheme, specified in Part 1 of this Article, are established by the Government of the Russian Federation.
3. The accommodation scheme for non-stationary trading facilities is devised and approved by the local self-government body determined under the Charter of a municipal unit in accordance with the procedures established by the authorized executive body of the relevant constituent territory of the Russian Federation.
4. The scheme for accommodating non-stationary trading facilities must provide that no less than sixty percent of non-stationary trading facilities of the total number of non-stationary trading facilities are used by small or medium business involved in trading activities.
5. The scheme for accommodating non-stationary trading facilities and changes to it must be published according to the procedures established for official publishing of municipal legal acts and must be placed on the official web-sites of the authority of a constituent territory of the Russian Federation and a local self-government body in the Internet data telecommunications network.
6. The scheme for accommodating non-stationary trading facilities and changes to it does not constitute the grounds for reconsidering locations of non-stationary trading facilities, construction, reconstruction and operation of which began before the scheme was approved.
7. The procedures for accommodation and use of non-stationary trading facilities inside a stationary trading facility, other buildings, constructions and structures or on a plot of land that are private property, are established by the owner of the stationary trading facility, other buildings, constructions and structures or a plot of land in compliance with the law of the Russian Federation.
Article 11. Requirements to Organization of Trade Fairs and Sale of Goods at Trade Fairs
1. Fairs are organized by the authorities, local self-government bodies, legal entities, and individual entrepreneurs (further on referred to as “fair organizers”). Trade fairs and sale of goods at trade fairs are organized according to the procedures established by normative legal acts of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, where the trade fairs are organized. If the trade fair is organized by a federal authority, the procedures for organizing the trade fair and sale of goods at it are established by the fair organizer in compliance with this Article.
2. The fair organizer develops and approves the plan of actions for organizing the trade fair and sale of goods at it and determines the fair working hours, the procedures for organizing the fair and the procedures for providing places for trading at the fair.
3. The fair organizer shall publish information about the plan of action for organizing the fair and sale of goods at it in mass media and shall place it on its web-site in the Internet data telecommunications network.
4. The sites for trading at the fair are provided to legal entities, individual entrepreneurs as well as citizens (including citizens who run peasant holdings (farms), personal household plots or are involved in gardening or domestic cattle breeding).
5. The size of the fee for providing equipped sites for trading at the fair as well as rendering services to assist the trade (housekeeping, veterinary-sanitary examination and other services) is determined by the fair organizer factoring in compensation of the costs of organizing the fair and sales of goods at the fair.
6. The requirements for organization of sale of goods at trade fairs (including the goods subject to sale at the specific trade fairs and included in the relevant list) are established by normative legal acts of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation with due account to the requirements set by the law of the Russian Federation on consumer rights, the law of the Russian Federation on sanitary-and-epidemiological welfare of the population, the law of the Russian Federation on fire safety, the law on environmental protection, and other requirements set by federal laws.
Article 12. Agreements between Associations, Unions, Other Non-Commercial Organizations of Economic Entities Involved in Trading Activities and Associations, Unions, Other Non-Commercial Organizations of Economic Entities Supplying Goods
1. Associations, unions, other non-commercial organizations of economic entities involved in trading activities can conclude agreements with associations, unions, other non-commercial organizations of economic entities supplying goods, for the purposes of establishing the bona fide principle for concluding and performing contracts.
2. Agreements specified in Part 1 of this Article are concluded in compliance with the antimonopoly legislation of the Russian Federation.
Chapter 3. ANTIMONOPOLY REGULATION, STATE CONTROL (SUPERVISION), MUNICIPAL CONTROL IN THE FIELD OF TRADING ACTIVITIES
Article 13. Antimonopoly Rules for Economic Entities Involved in Trading Activities and Economic Entities Supplying Food Products
1. Economic entities, involved in trading activities for sale of food products through organization of a trade network, and economic entities, supplying food products to trade networks, are forbidden to:
1) Create discriminatory conditions including:
a) Preventing entry/exit of other economic entity to/from the market;
b) Violating pricing procedures established by normative legal acts;
2) Impose conditions upon a counteragent:
a) On prohibiting the economic entity to enter into contracts for supply of food products with other economic entities involved in similar activities as well as other economic entities on similar or other conditions;
b) On liability for failure to honor the obligations of the economic entity for supplies of food products on conditions that are better than conditions for other economic entities involved in similar activities;
c) On providing information by the economic entity to the counteragent about contracts concluded by the economic entity with other economic entities involved in similar activities;
d) On paying the fee by the economic entity, supplying food products, for the right to supply such goods to the economic entity, involved in trading activities through organizing a trade network, in operational or newly opened trading facilities;
e) On paying the fee for changing the range of food products by the economic entity;
f) On reducing the prices by the economic entity, supplying food products, to the level, when with mark-up (surcharge) added, the price shall not exceed the minimum price for such goods in the trade by economic entities involved in similar activities;
g) On compensating damages by the economic entity, supplying food products, caused by loss of or damages to such goods after transfer of ownership for such goods, except when losses or damages were caused due to the fault of the economic entity, supplying such goods;
h) On compensating the costs, not related to execution of the contract for supply of food products and further sale of a particular consignment of such goods, by an economic entity;
i) On returning the food products that were not sold upon expiry of the designated period, to the economic entity that had supplied such goods, except when returning such goods is allowed or is provided for by the law of the Russian Federation;
j) Other conditions if they contain essential signs of the conditions provided for by sub-clauses "а" - "i" of this Clause;
k) Exercise wholesale trade under a commission agent agreement or a mixed agreement with elements of a commission agent agreement.
2. An economic entity can present evidence that its actions (omissions) specified in Part 1 of this Article (except actions specified in Clause 2 Part 1 Article 1 of this Article) can be allowed under Part 1 Article 13 of No.135-FZ Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” of 26th July 2006 (further on referred to as the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”).
Article 14 of this Federal Law is not applicable to the transactions related to buying, leasing or commissioning trading facilities and completed before this Federal Law came into force (Part 3 Article 22 of this document).
For municipal and urban districts the restriction provided for by Article 14 of this Federal Law comes into force on 1st July 2010 (Part 4 Article 22 of this document).
Article 14. Restrictions on Buying, Leasing of Additional Floor-Space of Trading Facilities by Economic Entities Involved in Retail Trade in Food Products Through Organization of a Trade Network
1. An economic entity involved in trading activities through organization of a trade network (except an agricultural consumer cooperative or an organization of consumer cooperation), the share of which exceeds twenty five percent of all sold food products in money terms in the previous financial year within the boundaries of a constituent territory of the Russian Federation, in particular, within the boundaries of Moscow or St Petersburg as the cities of federal status, within the boundaries of a municipal or an urban district, cannot buy or lease additional floor-space within the boundaries of the relevant administrative-territorial unit for the purposes of trading activities under any grounds, in particular, as a result of putting new trading facilities in operation, participating in competitive bidding, with the aim to acquire such trading facilities.
2. A transaction completed in breach of Part 1 of this Article shall be null and void. Any interested person, including the federal executive body which exercises the functions for adopting normative legal acts and antimonopoly enforcement, can file a claim to a court of law on applying the consequences of invalidity of such a transaction.
Article 15. Antimonopoly Requirements to the Authorities of the Constituent Territories of the Russian Federation, Local Self-Government Bodies in the Field of Regulating Trading Activities
The authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, other bodies and organizations exercising the functions of the above bodies cannot adopt cant and (or) exercise actions (omissions) that lead or can lead to establishing the rules of trading activities on the market that are different from similar rules established by federal laws and other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation, In particular, it is forbidden to:
1) Obligate economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities supplying goods to take part in re-inspection (in addition to the inspection carried out in accord with federal laws) of goods quality and safety, in a regional or a municipal system of goods quality, except if such responsibility is assigned to the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies in accordance with the established procedures;
2) Force economic entities, involved in trading activities, and economic entities, supplying goods, to take part in review procedures and (or) licensing procedures established by normative legal acts of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation or municipal legal acts in addition to the procedures that are established by the federal laws and are the statutory conditions for organization and exercise of trading activities in a constituent territory of the Russian Federation or a municipality (certification of trading facilities, accreditation of economic entities, certification of goods, compliance of trading facilities with the law of the Russian Federation);
3) Force economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities supplying goods to sell the goods at the prices determined under the procedures, established by the authorities the constituent territories of the Russian Federation (except if according to the established procedures such bodies are authorized to exercise state regulation of prices for the goods) or local self-government bodies;
4) Adopt other normative legal acts and decisions:
а) Prohibiting or restricting free movement of goods between the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and municipalities within the boundaries of a constituent territory of the Russian Federation;
b) Restricting sale of particular goods in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and municipalities within the boundaries of constituent territories of the Russian Federation;
c) Forcing economic entities involved in trading activities to conclude on a priority basis contracts for supply of food products with economic entities providing such supplies, and forcing economic entities supplying products to conclude on a priority basis contracts for supply of food products with economic entities for supply of food products with economic entities involved in trading activities;
d) Restricting economic entities involved in trading activities in their choice of economic entities supplying goods, and restricting economic entities supplying goods in their choice of economic entities involved in trading activities;
e) Discriminating economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities supplying goods in terms of providing access to transport and infrastructure facilities.
Article 16. State Control (Supervision) over Compliance with This Federal Law, Municipal Control in the Field of Trading Activities
1. State control (supervision) over compliance with this Federal Law, municipal control in the field of trading activities is exercised in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation.
2. Enforcement of antimonopoly rules and requirements provided for by Articles 13 – 15 of this Federal Law, is exercised by the federal executive body fulfilling the functions for adopting normative legal acts and enforcement of the antimonopoly law and its regional offices, that have the right to issue relevant determinations in accordance with the procedures and the scope of reference established by the antimonopoly law of the Russian Federation.
3. Should the federal executive body exercising the functions for adopting normative legal acts and enforcement of the antimonopoly law and its regional offices discover violations of the antimonopoly rules and requirements specified in Articles 13 - 15 of this Federal Law, they shall undertake measures in accordance with the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.
Chapter 4. MEASURES TO DEVELOP TRADING ACTIVITIES
Article 17. Measures Facilitating Development of Trading Activities
1. Determining the main areas and directions of social-and-economic development of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, relevant regional authorities provide for the measures facilitating development of trading activities and devise and implement regional trade development programmes.
2. Within their scope of reference, the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation shall undertake measures in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation that facilitate development of trading activities, in particular,:
1) Stimulating investment projects aimed at construction of logistic centres for acceptance and storage of agricultural products and batching goods for shipping to the economic entities, involved in wholesale and (or) retail sale of food products;
2) Supporting agricultural consumer cooperatives, organizations of consumer cooperation involved in trading and procurement activities in the rural areas;
3) Stimulating business activities of economic entities involved in trading activities and supporting interaction between economic entities, involved in trading activities, and economic entities, supplying food products, by organizing exhibitions and trade fairs in the field of trading activities.
3. To provide trade services to the residents of a municipality, local self-government bodies shall:
1) Make provisions for construction and accommodation of trading facilities in the documentation for land-use planning and land use and development rules;
2) Develop and approve the schemes for accommodating non-stationary trading facilities factoring in the standards for minimum floor-space of trading facilities to be provided for the public;
3) Undertake economic stimulation measures to support construction and accommodation of socially-oriented facilities of trading infrastructure and to ensure availability of municipally-owned property to the economic entities involved in trading activities;
4) Analyze financial, economic, social and other indicators of the state of trade in municipalities and analyze efficiency of the measures aimed at developing trading activities in municipalities.
Article 18. Regional and Municipal Trade Development Programmes
1. To facilitate trade development, executive bodies of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and local self-government bodies can develop regional and municipal trade development programmes accordingly (further on in this Article refrred to as “trade development programmes”) that take into account social-and-economic, environmental, cultural and other specific features of development of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and municipalities.
2. Trade development programmes are devised in accordance with the procedures established by the laws of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation in view of this Article.
3. Trade development programmes determine:
1) Aims, objectives and expected results of trade development with due account for the established standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public;
2) Measures aimed at achieving the goals of public policy in the field of trading activities, including measures to provide priority support to developing trade in the goods produces by domestic producers, small and medium business, building-up competitive environment, and developing trade in rural areas;
3) Size and sources of financing of the measures facilitating development of trading activities;
4) The main indicators of efficient implementation of trade development programmes;
5) Procedures for implementing trade development programmes and control over their implementation.
4. The main indicators of efficient implementation of trade development programmes are:
1) Achieving the established standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public;
2) Increasing goods availability to the public;
3) Building-up trade infrastructure with due account for types of trading facilities, forms and methods of trading, and public needs.
Article 19. The Standards for Minimum Provision of the Floor-Space of Trading Facilities to the Public
1. The objective of developing trading activities is to achieve the standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public, which is the main criteria for evaluating availability of food and non-food products to the public and satisfying demand for such goods.
2. The standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, in particular, for municipalities within the constituent territories, are drafted by the authorized executive bodies of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation in accordance with the calculation procedures for these standards, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
3. The standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public are approved as part of the documents determining the directions of social-and-economic development of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation, and are taken into account in the documents on land-use planning, master-plans, regional and municipal trade development programmes, and the schemes for accommodating non-stationary trading facilities.
4. The approved standards for minimum provision of the floor-space of trading facilities to the public cannot constitute the grounds for reconsidering allocation of stationary trading facilities and non-stationary trading facilities, construction or reconstruction of which began or was completed before the standards were approved.
Article 20. Information Support in the Field of Trading Activities
1. To increase management efficiency in the field of trading activities and facilitate their development the system of state informational support in the field of trading activities shall be created.
2. The system of state informational support in the field of trading activities is created and supported by the federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trade, according to the procedures established by the Government of the Russian Federation.
3. The following information is subject to mandatory publication and updating no less than quarterly on the official web-site of the federal executive body, exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trade, in the Internet data telecommunications network and the official web-sites of the authorized government bodies of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation in the Internet data telecommunications:
1) Information about the decisions made by the federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trading activities;
2) Information about issuing normative legal acts regulating relations in the field of trading activities;
3) Information about the average level of prices for certain types of goods;
4) Other information specified by the federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trading activities.
4. The authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation shall open and keep Trade Registers in accordance with the form of a Trade Register and the procedures for its opening and keeping, approved by the federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trading activities. The Trade Register includes information about economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities supplying goods (except producers of goods) and about the state of trade in a relevant constituent territory of the Russian Federation.
5. It prohibited to fix the fee for including information, specified in Part 4 of this Article, in the Trade Registers; making arrangements that documents confirming that information is included in the Trade Registers are to be obtained for a payment; making arrangements that exercising certain actions and making decisions regarding economic entities involved in trading activities and economic entities supplying goods (except goods producers) shall depends on whether Trade Registers contain information about these economic entities and (or) trading activities exercised by them. Information included in the Trade Registers shall be provided to physical persons and legal entities free-of-charge in accordance with the procedures established by the federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trading activities.
6. Quarterly, no later than the twentieth day of the month subsequent to the accounting quarter, the authorized government body of a constituent territory of the Russian Federation, responsible for keeping the relevant Trade Register, presents summarized information, contained in the Trade Register, to the federal executive body exercising the functions for developing public policy and normative legal regulation in the field of domestic trading activities and the authorized federal executive body exercising the functions for forming official statistical data.
Chapter 5. FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 21. Liability for Violating This Federal Law
Persons, guilty of violating this Federal Law, bear civil, administrative and criminal liability under the law of the Russian Federation.
Article 22. Final Provisions
1. This Federal Law comes into force on 1st February 2010.
2. Conditions of the contracts for supplying food products, concluded before the day when this Federal Law comes into force, must be adjusted to comply with this Federal Law within 180 days after this Federal Law comes into force.
3. Article 14 of this Federal Law is not applicable to transactions related to purchasing, leasing or commissioning trade facilities and concluded before this Federal Law comes into force.
4. For municipal districts and urban districts the restriction provided for by Article 14 of this Federal Law comes into force on 1st July 2010.
Dmitry Medvedev, the President of the Russian Federation
The Kremlin, Moscow
28th December 2009
No. 381-FZ
(non-official translation)