Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law easing localization requirements for self-employed taxi drivers working in their own cars.
Now, drivers whose cars do not meet localization criteria do not need to change jobs or buy domestic transport. They will be able to continue transportation under a regional quota, which will be 25 percent of the total number of cars entered in the regional register of passenger taxis. At the same time, the car must be owned by the owner for more than six months and used by him personally. The mechanism will be valid until January 1, 2033.
A transition period has been established for some regions: the Kaliningrad Region and the Siberian Federal District - until March 1, 2028, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions - until March 1, 2030.
State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin noted that the law will ensure a smooth transition to new requirements within seven years.
Pavel Fedyaev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, stressed that the law has been long awaited by representatives of the taxi community.