The Federal Tax Service (FTS) of Russia began asking manufacturers and retail chains for plans for quarterly price increases for socially significant food categories until the end of 2021. “Kommersant” writes about this with reference to sources among market participants.
Previously, the tax authorities were not interested in such information, and the reason for the requests is not clear to the companies. The press service of the Federal Tax Service and the government did not respond to inquiries, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade has no information on this matter.
A representative of one of the companies that received the request indicated that they had only provided the tax authorities with data on actual price increases, and refused to prepare plans, explaining their position as a trade secret. A representative of one of the major suppliers also noted that the responsibility for the forecast is not clear.
In the list of products that are of interest to the Federal Tax Service, there are meat, fish, dairy products, sugar, salt, tea, bread, cereals, vegetables and much more. The source of the publication does not exclude that in the future the business may start to blame for the failure to fulfill their own forecasts. In his opinion, the information will also serve to measure the markups of retail chains.
Meanwhile, Forward Legal’s lawyer Arpine Pirumyan pointed out that the request from the Federal Tax Service looks surprising, since the topic has nothing to do with the calculation of taxes. Most of all, these actions are similar to creating a price monitoring system.
In turn, the interlocutor of the publication in a large manufacturer considers what is happening as preparation for the further expansion of the practice of state regulation of prices.
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rusprodsoyuz Dmitry Leonov stressed that it is unrealistic to predict the cost of goods by the end of the year. They depend on many factors, for example, the exchange rate, which trading networks cannot influence. He also sees the danger of further price containment, leading to reduced assortment and supply problems.
At the end of last year, at the request of the country’s President Vladimir Putin, the government set price caps for sunflower oil and sugar. As a result, small and small retail chains faced a shortage of goods, and in the low-cost segment, prices rose to the maximum allowable.
Last week, Oksana Lut, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture, called this practice bad, but noted that the authorities might not have a way out. She threatened that if producers do not deal with the problem on their own, then the next price regulation will affect pasta and eggs.
The Accounts Chamber in its latest monitoring warned of an increased risk of a shortage of goods if artificial containment continues. Meanwhile, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called price control an effective measure.