In the Russian Federation, unauthorized trade is one of the most widespread violations. To a large extent this applies to large cities. Moreover, not only Russian citizens are doing this, but also visitors from neighboring countries. Be that as it may, but unauthorized trade is really flourishing. Many sellers simply do not understand that such activities are prohibited by law. Others know this, so they deliberately hide from law enforcement services. Meanwhile, tax evasion to the state incurs a loss for the latter. Therefore, sellers without official status are struggling. Although not very active.
Illegal sales of products
The legislation of Russia strictly prohibits the sale of any goods without registering the seller as an individual entrepreneur. This applies to almost all trade relations that may arise between two people. You can’t even sell vegetables from your own garden, handmade things, etc. Of course, you can sell a kilogram of tomatoes to your friend. However, it is impossible to constantly engage in the sale of products without registration. Otherwise, the violator cannot avoid a fine for unauthorized trade.
To carry out activities, it is necessary to register the seller as an individual entrepreneur or business entity. This is easy enough to do. However, in the presented article, we will not consider the process of registering IP. After receiving the official status, the seller will no longer be able to accuse of unauthorized trade.
However, there are certain types of unlicensed activities that do not require registration. For example, you can freely sell flowers at retail or in small wholesale. For their implementation, you need to draw up an agreement only with the administration of the market or outlet. But in this way you can sell only a small amount of goods. However, unauthorized flower trade is possible when selling products in large quantities. This will certainly cause interest from the tax authorities.
The sale of prohibited goods
Unauthorized trade is including the sale of any goods (and even the provision of services) that promote hatred, are considered illegal, violate copyright or moral standards. Naturally, the legalization of such products in the tax service is a priori impossible. Legal trade involves the sale of permitted products in the country and the provision of services that do not go beyond the law and do not violate anyone's rights, do not promote hatred or discrimination of people on any grounds.
Legislation
All trading companies should be guided by government decree No. 55, which was approved on the basis of the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights." This law is periodically amended. However, they do not go against the adopted resolution.
In accordance with the article, unauthorized trade is a failure to comply with the rules of relations between seller and consumer. The list of products prohibited for sale in the Russian Federation that cannot be legalized is separately mentioned: drugs, weapons, etc.
The role of Rospotrebnadzor
Rospotrebnadzor is a government agency that monitors the activities of outlets. Also, control is carried out by the fire service and the tax department. Each entrepreneur, when registering an IP, reads a list of goods acceptable for sale, requirements for their quality and safety. In enterprises where retail sales are carried out, the following must be fulfilled:
- Sanitary standards.
- Fire safety regulations.
Also at the point of sale, it is important to have a “Buyer's Corner” - a special information stand where the rules for selling a certain group of goods that are sold by this point of sale are indicated. There should also be a "Book of complaints and suggestions", telephones of regulatory authorities, a license. In the store, price tags should be pasted on the products, and badges should be present on the uniform on the workers. Buyers may return non-food items within 14 days.
Consequences of Unauthorized Trading
As we already know, the rules of trade require the seller to be registered as an entity. If you sell the goods without registration, it can be regarded as an administrative or even a criminal offense. The fine for trading without registering as an individual entrepreneur will be 500-2000 rubles, according to article 14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Also for illegal sale of products there may be more serious penalties - up to 300 thousand rubles. A similar norm is provided for in article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is even allowed to arrest the seller for up to 6 months or community service up to 480 hours. Similar punishments are possible if, as a result of unauthorized trade, the offender received income of a particularly large size.
Upon receipt of proceeds from the illegal sale of products, the seller may be seized for up to 5 years, as well as a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles. This allows us to understand that the fight against unauthorized trade is in full swing, and it is advisable for sellers to consider registering an enterprise for the sale.
Sale of alcohol
Separately, you need to consider alcohol. After all, their sale is prohibited even when issuing an IP. To sell alcohol-containing drinks, you must purchase a license. Such a business can also lead to unpleasant consequences. According to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, the seller without a license and registration faces a fine of 10-15 thousand rubles. Naturally, at the same time, all goods are confiscated. If the seller had equipment used for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, then it is also seized.
Problems
Despite the ban on the sale of goods without a license, illegal trade is flourishing in large and even small cities of Russia. There are certain explanations for this:
- Weak reaction of law enforcement agencies to the sale of goods without registration. Often their actions are ineffective. But most often they simply do not exist.
- Such activities are supported by citizens. People hurrying from work buy vegetables from their grandmothers near the metro, rather than in supermarkets or markets. In addition, you can bargain with “live” sellers, and they often sell goods cheaper. At the same time, people do not care that such businessmen may not comply with sanitary standards. They do not issue checks, therefore, they cannot be punished for the sale of low-quality products. After all, it is impossible to prove the fact of the sale of goods.
- Many people find it very difficult to enforce retail rules.
Law enforcement
Suppose a citizen calls the police and complains about unauthorized trade near the metro. Although this is an exceptional rarity. Usually everyone passes by. What happens afterwards? Police officers do not immediately come to such calls and rarely issue fines for such offenses.
Sometimes they call back a citizen and ask if he remained in place. If he walked away, then the police most likely would not come. In addition, some sellers may have agreements with certain individuals on the sale of goods without registration. Therefore, police officers very often simply do not notice such violations.
In addition, many sellers simply "fold" at the insistence of the police, but then again sell their goods when law enforcement officers leave. Unfortunately, there are many such places of unauthorized trade.