On 16 January 2024 the State Duma adopted in the first reading the draft law No. 412669-8 “On Amendments to Chapter 4 of the Federal Law “On the Basics of State Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation” (“Draft law”). The Draft law proposes to introduce a number of changes to the regulation of companies engaged in consumer market research, provided they receive revenue in the amount of more than 30 million rubles per year.
Thus, companies conducting market research should:
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be registered as Russian legal entities;
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process1 data obtained in the course of conducting research using databases located in Russia; place the technical means used for conducting research in Russia;
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provide the FAS of Russia with information confirming the total amount of revenue, as well as a report on research conducted2 (with its simultaneous posting on the official website of the company);
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at the request of the FAS of Russia – provide information on the methods, procedures and technologies used for market research;
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prevent the execution of sanctions imposed by foreign states against Russia, its individuals and legal entities;
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not to use unreliable data on the structure of the market in Russia in their activities.
These companies will be subject to inclusion in the special register of the FAS of Russia. Companies should be included in this register if:
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they carry out market research for more than half of the regions of the Russian Federation, or
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they have received an order from the FAS of Russia on the need to be included in the register.
At the same time, only companies 80% owned by Russian individuals or legal entities will be able to carry out market research. However, by decision of the Government Commission for the Control of Foreign Investments, companies that do not comply with this condition may be included in this register.
Also, a decision may provide for granting of rights to determine the decisions made by companies conducting research to certain entities. If the company refuses to comply with this requirement, the shares (stocks) of such a company may be subject to forced sale.
If this Daft law is adopted, companies conducting research on the structure of the consumer market are required to submit information to the FAS of Russia within 3 months confirming the total amount of revenue for the last calendar year, and by 1 March 2024 – to bring their activities in line with the new requirements.
1 Record, systematize, accumulate, store, analyze, extract
2 Data is provided for each calendar year and “I” accounts.