As of October 22, 2025: Review of Amendments to Russia’s Tax Code Introducing a New State Fee for Electronic Registration of Goods Subject to Mandatory Labeling
A review of amendments to the Russian Tax Code introducing a new state fee for electronic registration of goods subject to mandatory labeling within the National Product Tracking System is scheduled for October 22, 2025, in the State Duma. Representatives of Russia’s food industry and retail trade unions have officially appealed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, requesting that the initiative be withdrawn. According to industry sources cited by Forbes and Retailer.ru, the proposed measure risks increasing operational costs and complicating compliance requirements for manufacturers and distributors—especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mandatory product labeling in Russia, introduced on December 31, 2017, requires unique, traceable codes to be applied to goods as they move from manufacturer to retail shelves. The goal is to ensure legality, safety, and transparency across the supply chain. Over the years, the range of labeled product categories has expanded significantly and now covers a large portion of food and beverage items, as well as other consumer goods.
Expected Economic and Operational Impact
Food industry associations report that their combined annual labeling costs are already approaching 52 billion rubles. Even a modest fee of 0.05 rubles per product unit could add more than 1.5 billion rubles to annual expenses, further squeezing operating margins. Such costs would be particularly burdensome for small-scale producers and retail chains, which often operate with minimal profit margins and frequently launch private-label products. Analysts warn that in sectors such as dairy and non-alcoholic beverages, the phased increase in product costs could slow segment growth or force price hikes on essential food items. Industry representatives have also voiced concern that growing administrative complexity may encourage the reemergence of grey-market practices.
Significance for E-Commerce and Digital Infrastructure
The planned fee and updated regulatory requirements directly impact workflows and content management systems underpinning Russian e-commerce:
Impact on Product Feeds
Since labeling codes are required in digital product listings and feeds, any new fee or compliance obstacle increases the cost of feed creation and maintenance. Retailers and platforms aggregating thousands of SKUs must now account for higher per-unit costs and ensure precise code attribution. Efficient product feed operations are becoming a critical success factor.
Cataloguing Standards
Unified identification depends on centralized, up-to-date cataloguing protocols. Additional fees and potential delays in processing labeled data could disrupt automated catalog updates, reduce consistency, and create room for input errors. This is particularly important for platforms that rely on real-time synchronization or dynamic assortment management.
Quality and Completeness of Product Cards
The labeling system is tightly integrated with product content infrastructure; each product card must include both the mandatory code and accompanying product information aligned with official records. Higher costs for code creation and submission could slow the rollout of new product cards or reduce metadata richness, as content teams redirect resources toward compliance rather than enrichment.
Speed of Assortment Expansion
For digital sellers, the barrier to introducing new products is partly determined by the time and expense associated with regulatory labeling. Even a small fee may delay product launches, slow rapid assortment scaling, and discourage experimentation with limited editions or region-specific SKUs—especially for small and medium sellers seeking agility.
Adoption of No-Code and AI Solutions
Many e-commerce operators rely on no-code platforms and automated content tools to optimize cataloguing and compliance workflows. Additional administrative steps or fees may drive a shift toward more advanced AI-based systems capable of optimizing code allocation, error detection, and regulatory reporting. However, increased costs and complexity may slow adoption among smaller players lacking capital or technical expertise to upgrade their platforms. For this reason, companies should pay close attention to artificial intelligence solutions for business process optimization.
Broader Industry Trends and Recent Legislative Developments
The labeling requirement aligns with Russia’s broader policy trend toward digital product traceability, originally designed to combat counterfeiting, protect consumers, and optimize tax collection. Sector data shows that compliance costs have steadily increased as the system has matured, mirrored in adjacent industries such as pet food—where labeling and excise rules have similarly driven price hikes and administrative burdens (as reported by PetfoodIndustry). Supply chain disruptions and rising raw material costs—stemming from import bans, packaging restrictions, and payment issues due to sanctions—have further exacerbated the friction involved in product labeling and digital recordkeeping.
At the same time, broader changes to Russia’s tax environment—including VAT increases, tighter eligibility for simplified tax regimes, and higher insurance contributions for SMEs—have sharply raised the cost of doing business. For e-commerce, the intersection of tax and administrative regulations governing product labeling heightens operational risks: additional fees could marginalize weaker market participants and fragment cataloguing standards, challenging marketplace operators to maintain seamless, compliant product flows.
Risks and Outlook
Industry experts warn that even a “symbolic” labeling fee, despite its objectively small per-unit size, could have disproportionate effects due to cumulative scale and overlap with existing compliance costs. In particular, for categories with low per-unit profit margins, the chain reaction may manifest in pricing, assortment diversity, and ultimately, product availability for consumers.
There is also concern that new obstacles—by increasing computational and financial overhead tied to labeled data—could reduce the attractiveness of launching products digitally. In a context where AI and no-code infrastructures have become essential for rapid, scalable catalog management, any slowdown in process automation or data quality threatens to undermine platform competitiveness, hinder assortment growth, and disadvantage innovative small brands.
Ultimately, the proposal to introduce a state fee for compliance with labeling requirements represents a significant regulatory adjustment for Russia’s food and retail industries. Its implementation is expected to affect product management economics, content automation complexity, and the overall dynamics of digital commerce in 2026 and beyond. As the legislative process unfolds, sector stakeholders will closely monitor the implications for catalog infrastructure, operating costs, and market accessibility.
As contextual background: the Russian Ministry of Finance has confirmed the likely increase in VAT and revisions to tax provisions effective January 1, 2026, as part of broader budget reforms. These measures further illustrate the growing regulatory pressure on business operations and content workflows within e-commerce ecosystems (Schneider Group, Meduza).
Conclusion
This development underscores the increasing complexity of regulatory compliance within Russia’s e-commerce landscape. The integration of labeling data into product catalogs is crucial, and any additional cost or inefficiency in this process can substantially impact sellers’ operating expenses and product launch timelines. At NotPIM, we recognize the importance of optimizing product content management. Our platform helps e-commerce businesses automate catalog updates, ensuring they can quickly adapt to evolving regulatory requirements and maintain data accuracy regardless of market conditions. With advanced capabilities for processing product price lists and feeds, NotPIM enables businesses to stay competitive and focus on growth.