Pyotr Shelishch: Foods with an expiration date should be given to those in need
Last year, under the pressure of «nuclear sanctions» due to a special operation in Ukraine, the country's economy changed dramatically. Willy-nilly, the consumer behavior of Russians has also changed: our habits at the household level, taste preferences. How exactly and how much? On World Consumer Rights Day, we asked Petr Shelishch, Chairman of the Russian Consumers Union, about this.
< p>— Yes, about 30% of the total number of requests received by us are about non-food products. Here the main role is played by the issue of cost, loss of money. If a person bought a pack of spoiled cottage cheese in a store for 150 rubles, then at best he would take it back to the store, where they would replace the product. Most of the time he just throws it in the trash. He definitely will not write a complaint somewhere or go to court. But if the purchased car, for which he has been saving money for a long time, went wrong, then in this situation he will go to the end. For this reason, claims to the quality of non-food products remain in the first place for us.
— Now there is a stream of complaints about housing and communal services, especially after the December increase in tariffs. Receipts for the «communal» come with astronomical sums, but nothing has changed in the maintenance of houses, in many apartments the batteries were a little warm in winter. Why pay more then?
“Real parallel imports do not affect the quality in any way. This is the importation of goods produced by the manufacturing company itself, but without the permission of the copyright holder. He was in Russia until 2003, he has always been in the USA, Canada, China, the European Union.
In the early 2000s, global trademarks began to impose their conditions on us: to prohibit the import of goods into the country without the permission of the copyright holder. So that the company can control flows, quality, after-sales service and repair. As a result, after a couple of years it turned out that an American, say, a car bought in Russia costs 30% more than if it is bought in America and transported by ship to Russia. However, such a purchase was considered an offense, the car was arrested and confiscated. Therefore, we have always advocated the development of parallel imports — even before any sanctions.
As for counterfeit, it certainly exists. But it's not even about him. Today, those who brought the goods, unfortunately, are evading responsibility for its quality. And marriage is found even among global manufacturing brands. If earlier the seller, without unnecessary red tape, replaced the goods to the buyer, receiving compensation from the brand, now this process has stalled. The seller has no such inventory. He puts the risks in the price, and the cost of the goods increases significantly.
— The question is relevant. In trade and manufacturers, products are really stale in warehouses. Moreover, last year consumer demand in our country decreased. Now the trade pays money for the disposal of products, in Moscow, for example, there are two companies that have such licenses.
The trade would be happy to donate products with an expiration date to charitable organizations. But from such transactions, she is obliged to pay VAT, as if the products were officially sold in the networks. It is more cost-effective to pay for disposal than value added tax. It is high time to cancel it!
There are no tax barriers in Europe, and products are not destroyed there. Charitable organizations provide them with canteens for the poor, distribute kits to the unemployed and the needy, who are officially registered with employment services. Not free, but, let's say, for a purely symbolic 1 euro.