Russia’s “Vape license” a day through the second and third readings from September 1 to start implementation

On June 1, the Law on Regulation of Production and Distribution of Tobacco Products and Raw Materials in Russia passed its second and third readings in the State Duma. The law will enter into force in phases, the first from September 1, 2023, and the second from March 1, 2024.
On June 1, the Law on Regulation of Production and Distribution of Tobacco Products and Raw Materials in Russia passed its second and third readings in the State Duma. The purpose of the law is to improve the legal framework for state regulation of the production and distribution of tobacco products, nicotine products and raw materials for their production in Russia, and to establish special regulatory control in this area with a licensing system for electronic cigarettes.

The law requires licenses for the production and distribution of tobacco and nicotine products and raw materials, as well as registration and storage of production equipment to avoid illegal use of the equipment.

The law also provides for the regulation of the production and distribution of products and raw materials, which includes the use of an “honest label” system for product traceability. In addition, the law establishes a special national regulatory body to combat illegal production and distribution, including the seizure and destruction of products and raw materials.

In order to avoid the production of illicit tobacco products, nicotine products and raw materials, the law introduces requirements for major technical equipment and requires mandatory state registration. In order to monitor the production and distribution of tobacco products, the law introduces the use of the state information system for monitoring the distribution of goods (ГИСМТ).

The law gives the “Russian Alcohol and Tobacco Regulatory Agency” the authority to control and regulate the production and distribution of tobacco products, nicotine products and raw materials. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of staff of the Alcohol and Tobacco Regulatory Agency, which, according to the Agency’s estimates, requires an additional 40.886 million rubles per year from the federal budget, which is mentioned in the financial and economic statement of the document.

The amendments were made in response to the second review, clarifying the basis for keeping the main technical equipment for tobacco production, and amending the permissible quantity limits for individuals to transport within Russia without product marking. The terms “electronic nicotine liquid delivery system,” “nicotine product,” and “electronic nicotine delivery system” were removed from the document.

The Russian government will determine the information to be included in the State Information System for Monitoring the Circulation of Goods, or the cases in which the sale of goods lacking the information required by the system is prohibited, and will determine the procedure for implementing the ban.

The law will enter into force in stages:

From September 1, 2023, the requirement to apply for a license will come into force, including the registration of the main technical equipment, which will allow economic entities to obtain the required operating licenses.
From March 1, 2024, the provisions on state regulation, seizure of products and equipment in illegal circulation, as well as the requirements for the production and circulation records of products and raw materials, will come into force.