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The government has approved amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses that introduce separate fines for marketplaces for violating sellers’ rights. In particular, this concerns price pressure and retaliatory measures against those who refuse to take part in discounts. Forbes reported this.
The amendments for the second reading of the bill were prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development. The document introduces new categories of violations for operators of intermediary digital platforms, which include marketplaces.
Details. One of the main changes concerns price pressure. Marketplaces will have to give sellers the option to prohibit price reductions on their goods at the sellers’ own expense. If such an option is unavailable or the platform violates the ban, this will be considered a violation of the law.
In addition, marketplaces will be fined for putting pressure on sellers who refuse discounts. This includes, for example, lowering a seller’s rating, worsening a product’s position in search results, restricting access to a personal account, or stopping the listing of product cards. Fines for this may reach 400,000 rubles.
For more serious violations, including the unlawful blocking of a seller or the systematic delaying of complaint reviews, fines may amount to as much as 500,000 rubles. Platforms will also be required to review sellers’ complaints within 15 days and lift unlawful restrictions within 48 hours.
Timeline. Most of the new fines are expected to come into force on October 1. It is still unknown when the document will be adopted in the third reading.