True sign: glass bottles for alcohol offered to brand

In Russia, they propose introducing control over the turnover of glass bottles into which alcohol is poured. For this, packaging manufacturers want to oblige each product to be branded with their individual mark. In addition, it is planned to ban the bottling of alcohol in PET packaging. The corresponding bill was prepared by the Federation Council. As the author of the document, Senator Sergey Ryabukhin, explained to Izvestia, the document has already been sent to the Cabinet. The new measure will help regulatory authorities identify factories that sell containers to illegal producers of alcohol. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has already supported the idea of labeling bottles - but only for strong alcohol.

Brand for glass

The Federation Council has prepared a new set of measures to combat illegal alcohol. The corresponding draft amendments to the law "On the Basics of State Regulation of Trade Activity in the Russian Federation" are already ready. The document is proposed to be supplemented with the norm that each Russian glass factory is obliged to put a unique identifier mark on the bottle. About this "Izvestia" said the author of the bill, the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets Sergei Ryabukhin. The measure will allow to identify manufacturers and their products, which means to identify the seller of containers for illegal alcohol.

In addition, the senator considers it necessary to additionally mark glass containers for strong alcohol: place the Latin letter A in a circle on the bottle. At the same time, the factories will receive the right to sell their products only to those companies that have a license for the production of alcohol.

True, after the implementation of such measures, counterfeit manufacturers can switch to polymer packaging (PET), admits Sergey Ryabukhin. To eliminate this risk, its use for bottling is proposed to be completely prohibited. Today, vodka in PET packaging is already popular abroad and is gradually appearing in Russia.

An explanatory note to the bill (Izvestia has it) says that now manufacturers of consumer glass containers do not have an incentive to put labels on bottles that would allow them to be identified. Moreover, in the current legislation there is no responsibility for the manufacture of containers for illegal producers of alcohol. In a complex, this allows factories to make bottles for counterfeit alcohol, which is one of the sources of mass poisoning of citizens. Tight control over the turnover of glass containers will reduce the number of such cases, emphasized in the explanatory note.

After adjusting the law on trade, the authorities will have the right to confiscate consumer packaging without the necessary marking: this can be done within the framework of the already existing Art. 15.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (“Production or sale of goods with respect to which labeling requirements are established”). In addition, the glass factory may be threatened with the seizure of equipment if it is proved that its employees supply containers for strong alcohol to a manufacturer who does not have a license to manufacture it.

Sergei Ryabukhin said in a conversation with Izvestia that the bill has already been sent to the government. Izvestia made a request to the press service of the Cabinet.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia that they support the labeling of glass containers for strong alcohol (above 28%).

Crime and Punishment

Some glass factories already mark their products today, but they do not have such a duty. At the same time, there are several factories operating in the country that make containers for counterfeit alcohol, Igor Kosarev, president of the Union of Alcoholic Beverage Producers (SPA), told Izvestia. They don’t put their own stigma on these bottles, knowing that they will pour “scorched” vodka in garages, he said. But while the punishment for this does not exist.

The expert stressed that such enterprises cause problems for other glass producers: they cast part of their products illegally without paying taxes. So, the container may have a lower cost, which allows it to successfully compete in the market with legal analogues. The new bill aims to stop this practice. The punishment for this should be adequate, that is, comparable with the level of illegal income of these plants, Igor Kosarev is sure.

The head of the Center for Research on the Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, Vadim Drobiz, in turn, supported the bill. The new regulation will help reduce the volume of illegal spirits by about 30%.

The expert agrees that, without glass containers, manufacturers of counterfeit alcohol will switch to polymer packaging, its use is more difficult to control. Or, as an option, they can start bottling alcohol in 0.5 liter lemonade bottles.

Source: https://iz.ru