Russia to re-introduce online booze sales

The Russian government is planning to allow sales of alcohol online once again, but strict regulations will remain in place, according to reports.

Russia is in talks with a committee to re-introduce a law permitting the sale of alcohol online

In May this year, politicians proposed a bill to ban all internet sales of alcohol in a bid to further tackle the prevalence of the black market, blocking all websites which sell alcohol.

Duma deputy Viktor Zvagelsky, the main sponsor of the bill, claimed that 10% of all alcohol sold in Russia is purchased online, however some analysts have refuted this figure.

According to Russian news site RIA Novosti, Russia’s Alcoholic Beverage Committee, a non-commercial partnership between alcohol producers and distributors, proposed a plan to the Federal Service for Alcohol Market to allow the online sale of alcohol in Russia once again.

According to the committee’s proposals, retailers will have to apply for a separate license to sell alcohol online and consumers will only be permitted to use a debit or credit card.

Deliveries of alcohol purchased online will also be forbidden to be delivered between 11pm and 8am to coincide with new regulations around late night alcohol sales. Undercover inspectors will also be employed to check the licenses of retailers.

RIA Novosti reports Alexandr Romanov, director of Russia’s Alcoholic Beverage Committee, said the proposals will “clean the internet of the criminal element in the sale of alcohol.”

The “long-distance” sale of alcohol was first banned in 2007, however online retailers have since turned to various legal loopholes.

This latest legislative amendment has been proposed as part of the government’s efforts to crackdown on illegal trade, which recent figures suggest accounted for 55% of the whole vodka market in 2013.

A complete ban on alcohol advertising was introduced in Russia in January 2013.