The deputies proposed to oblige stores to indicate the price of goods for 1 kg and 1 liter in order to prevent manipulations with packaging. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade saw the risk of price increases in the idea, Rospotrebnadzor also called for the finalization of the project
The Ministry of Industry and Trade criticized the proposal to oblige stores to indicate the cost of products per round unit of measure — 1 liter or 1 kg, pointing out the risks of higher product prices due to the need for retailers to modernize accounting systems. The ministry sent its position to the State Legal Department (GPU) of the president, Izvestia writes with reference to the document.
The initiative actually proposes to oblige stores to calculate the cost of 1 kg or 1 liter of products, and therefore the display of goods and the preparation of price tags will increase in price. The modernization of accounting systems will lead to increased costs, and retail chains «will shift the resulting costs to consumers,» the letter says.
In addition, the ministry reminded that stores also sell products whose price per 1 kg or liter is not needed by the buyer: chewing gum, chips, tea, coffee, etc. since the bill does not make exceptions for certain categories of goods.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed introducing a single packaging format to make it easier for customers to compare prices for similar products of different weights or volumes.
Rospotrebnadzor also sent a conclusion to the State Legal Department of the President on the bill. The department pointed out the need to finalize the project.
The author of the bill, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Boris Chernyshev, said that the recalculation of volume and weight, as well as the production of new price tags, would not entail a significant increase in costs for stores. He noted that all price tags are now formed with the help of computer programs, and «the statement about the supposedly» complexity «of recalculation is a banal excuse.» He acknowledged that buyers are not interested in the cost of 1 kg of chewing gum, but people have the right to know how much 1 liter of milk or one diaper costs in a package in order to make a purchase decision. “By the second reading of the bill, we will make an amendment: the government will approve the list of goods with a mandatory “fair price tag,” Chernyshev promised.