The amendments to the law “About trade” came into effect

The amendments to the law “About trade” came into effect since August 1, 2010. These amendments limit the delays on payments for the delivered goods. According to the law the trade networks have to pay back for the perishable goods during 10 calendar days, for the goods with the 30-day keeping time – during 30 days and for other products – during 45 days. The business newspaper “Marker” found out thanks to the Russian Anti-Monopoly Service what trade networks failed to keep in the control terms. It means in the nearest future these companies can face the problems with the regulating bodies.

According to information of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service during the crisis the trade networks were practically more and more often credited at the expense of the purveyors. In 2005 all payment delays for the delivered goods, officially indicated in the contracts, made up practically 21-25 bank days for all trade networks. Same delays increased by 45-60 days by 2008 and in some cases up to 65 days. But in reality the returning of means was even longer, the manager of the company “Management Development Group” Dmitry Potapenko explains.

Even the biggest world brands, such as “Danone” and “Coca-cola” couldn’t impose their terms on the trade networks and this was the main reason why the law, according to which the maximal payment delays were minimized, was passed at the end of 2009. The networks were forced to change their contracts with the purveyors till August 1, 2010. But now, according to investigations of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, not a single trade network is able to follow the new rules. The anti-monopoly service checked the terms of payments for the perishable goods, the milk products in particular. Not a single retailer managed to stand it.

Such retailers as “Lenta”, “Metro” and “Real” are known in the market as the companies with “very complicated document circulation”. As Dmitry Potapenko says, all payments for the goods in “Metro” run automatically after the invoice’s data enters the system. But the invoices aren’t always properly registered and this is one of the reasons why the payment delays appear. Not all purveyors are satisfied with such explanations and now “Metro” has to fight against plenty of suits concerning untimely payments for the delivered goods.

Now the retailers may just take the information from the anti-monopoly service into account because no penalties for violation of the control payment terms still exist. The corresponding amendment to the Code about administrative violations is still found under consideration by the State Duma. But if the document is approved, such violation will cost the companies to the sums from 300 thousand to one million rubles plus the fines for the chiefs of such companies – 10-50 thousand rubles, the news-service of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service reports.