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- Strangers by the rules: the Russian Federation is tightening the requirements for foreign marketplaces
Strangers by the rules: the Russian Federation is tightening the requirements for foreign marketplaces
Foreign marketplaces in Russia will be required to limit the share of foreign participation, as well as set the minimum authorized capital. Such new requirements for the localization of market players were proposed by the government in the Federation Council. The senators believe that these are the basic working conditions in any civilized market. Representatives of online platforms, on the contrary, believe that stricter restrictions are unnecessary, since key localization requirements are already provided for by law. At the same time, industry sources explain that the difficulties of working for foreign businesses in the Russian Federation may lead to a mirror response from the countries where the marketplaces are located.
Why do the Russian Federation want to tighten the requirements for foreign platforms
The Federation Council has prepared new requirements for the localization of foreign digital platforms in the Russian Federation. In particular, the senators propose to oblige businesses to create Russian legal entities with a limited share of foreign participation, as well as to establish minimum authorized capital requirements for such companies. As Izvestia found out, such recommendations were sent to the government by the Federation Council Committee on regulations following a discussion of the "Strategy of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the field of consumer protection until 2030" with the participation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Rospotrebnadzor, the Central Bank and the expert society.
The requirements for localization of foreign digital marketplaces are fixed in the law "On Certain Issues of Regulating the Platform Economy in the Russian Federation". It was adopted by the State Duma and the Federation Council in the summer of 2025 and is scheduled to enter into force on October 1, 2026. The document also provides for the creation of a Register of intermediary digital platforms: after being included in it, foreign companies will be required to comply with the requirements of Russian legislation on the platform economy. For their non-compliance, the measures of the law on the "landing" of foreign IT companies (236-FZ on the activities of foreign persons on the Internet) will be applied, up to the blocking of websites. Among the requirements for localization of services are the creation of a branch, representative office, as well as the establishment of a Russian legal entity, registration in the personal account of Roskomnadzor, and an electronic application form on the website.
According to the document, stricter requirements for foreign companies are associated with the growth of cross-border delivery services, which, according to senators, often operate in violation of Russian law. This, as noted, leads to risks for consumers, in particular, it reduces guarantees for the purchase of high—quality and safe products and limits the possibility of their return.
In addition, a significant number of illegal participants operate on such electronic platforms: they do not notify about the start of activities, do not have the necessary licenses and are not registered in the state system for monitoring the turnover of labeled goods (GIS MT).
Among the additional measures, the senators propose to establish mandatory reporting requirements for foreign digital businesses to customs and tax authorities on the volume and structure of sales, create support services for Russian users, and form compensation (insurance) funds to protect consumer interests.
— Today we are witnessing the intensive development of cross-border trade, the volume of which exceeded 430 billion rubles by the end of 2025. According to experts, in the coming years, this figure may exceed the target of 1 trillion rubles. However, the concomitant growth of cross—border delivery services often occurs without complying with the basic requirements of Russian legislation," Senator Alexander Lutovinov, a member of the Federation Council Rules Committee, explained the need for new measures to Izvestia.
According to him, the proposed measures are the basic conditions for a business to operate in good faith in any civilized market.
Izvestia sent requests to the government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a request to comment on the prospects for supporting the proposals, as well as foreign online platforms.
The press service of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko reported that the document had been received by the government office and would be reviewed in due course.
Pros and cons of new localization proposals
According to the president of the Association of Digital Platforms, Oraz Durdyev, the key requirements for localization of foreign marketplaces are already provided for in Russian legislation.
"The obligation to open a branch, representative office or authorized organization in the Russian Federation is provided for by the law "On the Activities of Foreign Persons in the Internet Information and Telecommunications Network in the territory of the Russian Federation," and the law on the platform Economy extends its rules and liability mechanisms to foreign operators," a business representative told Izvestia.
He also noted that the envisaged measures are aimed at creating equal competitive conditions for all market participants and contribute to increasing the transparency of their activities. The balanced nature of regulation, taking into account the interests of the state, business and consumers, makes it possible to more effectively protect the rights of all parties and ensures the sustainable development of the platform economy, believes Oraz Durdyev.
A similar opinion is shared by the press service of Wildberries&Russ (RWB). They noted that the relevant localization regulation has already been provided and provides a level of protection for both businesses and users. In this regard, the new measures do not seem to be justified from a practical point of view.
At the same time, a number of other marketplaces support the proposed initiative.
— Lamoda supports measures that align the working conditions of Russian and foreign marketplaces and reflect the development of platform regulation. These changes will help protect customers and reduce the risk of trading in unsafe or counterfeit goods, the company's press service told Izvestia.
They also noted that the announced initiatives can even out the competition and responsibility of domestic and foreign platforms, increase tax transparency and digital security of foreign aggregators operating in the Russian Federation.
An industry source explained to Izvestia why Russian marketplaces are taking an ambiguous position. According to him, they do not support these measures, as they may be subject to the same sanctions if they come to other countries.
"Cross—border delivery services often operate without complying with the requirements of Russian law, which violates citizens' rights to the quality and safety of goods, makes it difficult to return and resolve disputes, and creates unequal competition conditions," Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Council of Rospotrebnadzor, told Izvestia.
According to him, all the measures proposed by the senators are necessary to protect consumers and increase market transparency. As an example, he cited the situation with the Chinese marketplace Poizon, which launched its Russian-language platform in Russia.
— The service collects personal data of Russian citizens, including passport and financial information, without proper compliance with database localization requirements and without inclusion in the register of personal data operators. Earlier, Roskomnadzor had already reported that the company had failed to provide the requested information and was considering bringing it to administrative responsibility, the social activist said.
According to him, this shows that the lack of special and strict requirements for cross-border delivery services has led to the formation of a de facto "gray" model of remote trading in the Russian market, in which a foreign operator gets access to the personal data of domestic consumers and their funds, but at the same time avoids fulfilling basic duties that are mandatory for a bona fide business in the Russian Federation.
Oleg Pavlov also believes that fines alone are no longer enough for malicious violators. In his opinion, such sites should be included in the register of violators with subsequent operational restriction of access to them in Russia.
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