The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia plans to establish stricter rules for public procurement of radio electronics, in order to prohibit the mixing of domestic and foreign products.
The new initiatives are aimed at eliminating the circumvention of restrictions established for foreign goods. The ministry proposes to prohibit the combination of Russian and foreign electronics in one lot, and also wants to introduce a new concept of a “kit” to combat schemes that ignore the requirements for the localization of goods.
Representatives of the ministry posted a draft of the proposed changes on the regulation.gov portal, which prescribes a ban on combining electronics in one lot, both included in the list of foreign goods and not included in it. This decision was a response to appeals from industry associations with reports of attempts by some customers to circumvent the restriction mechanisms.
The department noted that the new rules are designed to remove legal loopholes that allow the use of the purchase of sets of goods as a way to avoid restrictions on certain items. The ban will apply to certain groups of goods and will not apply to all radio electronics.
The department also wants to adjust the list of restricted goods and increase quotas for printers and multifunctional devices to 50%. This decision is aimed at supporting domestic production.