Foreign online retailers will benefit from quarterly fees

The introduction of municipal fees for some types of businesses will result in enormous problems not only for traditional trade, but also for online stores, the Association of Retail Companies believes. Moreover, if the State Duma approves the relevant amendments, foreign online retailers will gain an advantage over domestic ones. They will have to pay not only for delivery, but also for the storage of goods in their warehouses within the country.

. The State Duma budget committee discussed the relevant amendments last week. In accordance with them, local authorities are vested with the right to levy fees for certain types of entrepreneurial activity. For example, kiosks, shops and catering facilities with an area of ​​less than 50 square meters. m will have to pay 600 thousand rubles. to the quarter. For those who conduct similar activities on large areas, the fee will be calculated based on the rate of 6 thousand rubles. for 1 square. m. A similar rate will be applied to companies that release goods from the warehouse. In addition, freight transportation also fell under the fees (from 60 to 300 thousand rubles, depending on carrying capacity).

AKORT notes that in the field of retail trade, the introduction of fees will have a negative impact not only on classic trade, but also on distance. “Many sellers provide free delivery of goods to their customers,” the association explains. And such companies will have to pay the fee twice - from their warehouses or retail outlets and for the right to deliver the goods, AKORT warns. Moreover, even if the online store delivers its goods with the help of transport companies, the fee will be included in the purchase price twice. Thus, the tax burden for distance stores will be higher than for stationary stores.

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Taking into account the fact that postal companies, including rendering services for the transportation of goods, are not subject to the new fees, they will receive certain preferences. “Artificial redistribution of delivery services in favor of postal companies is possible,” they say in AKORT. As a result, the profit is withdrawn from transport companies, an increase in the load on postage, which entails an increase in delivery times.

In such a situation, foreign online stores (for example, Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, etc.) will win, "These companies deliver goods from warehouses located, as a rule, outside Russia, using the services of postal organizations for delivery", - explains AKORT. Due to this, the cost of goods from foreign companies will be lower than that of Russian ones, which will put domestic players in unequal competitive conditions. In its appeal, AKORT asks to exempt distance selling and the activity of delivering goods to customers from the municipal tax.