In the third (final) reading The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law giving the Cabinet of Ministers the authority to determine goods subject to mandatory labeling. According to the developers, the implementation of the law should contribute to countering the illegal trafficking of counterfeit, falsified and low-quality goods.

The law gives the Government the right to determine the list of goods required to be marked with control means of identification. At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers will approve the rules and procedure for mandatory labeling of these goods, as well as a list of groups of economic entities in this area.

The government gets the right to establish additional mandatory requisites of a cash receipt or a strict reporting form, the product code, determined by the Cabinet of Ministers and allowing to identify the product or the product nomenclature code. In accordance with the amendments adopted in the second reading of the document, the Government may oblige economic entities or their individual groups to label certain goods in order to protect human life and health, protect public morality and law and order, protect the environment, cultural values, fulfill international obligations of the Russian Federation or ensure the defense and security of the state.

The sale, exchange or other introduction into circulation of goods, as a result of which the requirements for mandatory marking by means of identification are violated, is not allowed on the territory of the Russian Federation, unless otherwise provided by law. Economic entities that do not label goods by means of identification, if identification of such goods is mandatory, will be liable in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Since August 2016, sales of fur products not marked with a special sign have been banned in Russia and the EAEU. Other pilot projects are planned for labeling shoes, medicines, children's goods and other goods. The law is expected to come into force on January 1, 2019.