The Ministry of Finance of Russia has proposed to introduce a moratorium on the application of fines against sellers of smartphones, tablets, computers, laptops and smart TVs that do not have pre-installed domestic software. This is reported in the official press release of the department.
The Ministry of Finance explained that due to the suspension of the activities of some foreign companies, the government of the Russian Federation allowed parallel import of goods – the import of goods into the country not directly from the manufacturer and without the consent of the copyright holder. At the same time, the ministry notes, Russian legislation requires manufacturers of smartphones, tablets, computers, laptops and smart TVs to pre-install domestic software.
In order to avoid a legal conflict, it was decided to introduce a moratorium on the application of fines. The Ministry of Finance noted that they have already prepared a corresponding proposal for changing the Administrative Code. At the same time, the changes will not affect the manufacturers of equipment — they will retain the obligation to pre-install the software.
Domestic software is preinstalled on devices from April 1, 2021. The list for pre-installation is approved annually based on the selection of applications submitted by the software copyright holders. According to the results of the selection of 2021, a list of Russian programs for electronic computers was approved, which should be pre-installed on certain types of technically complex goods in 2022, the agency noted.