The article “Features of parallel imports pose new challenges for business” presents a commentary by managing partner Elena Legashova

“Business Petersburg” on April 23 discussed the difficulties associated with parallel imports in Russia. In particular, whether the 2022 Russian Government Decree on the introduction of parallel imports led to an increase in the number of legal disputes.

“Allowing parallel imports in relation to individual trademarks has not in itself led to a significant increase in the number of litigations. It only allowed bona fide importers to import original goods without the consent of copyright holders, who, for various reasons, be it sanctions or individual decisions, refuse to issue permits for the import and sale of products under their trademarks in the Russian Federation,” says Elena.

At the same time, some peculiarities appeared. Elena noted that the conclusions of the 13th Arbitration Court of Appeal in the decision on the dispute of the St. Petersburg State Institution "Department of Information Technologies and Communications" (UITS), which demanded a penalty from Translink Ltd. LLC from the Leningrad Region, may in the future help domestic businesses fight off the claims of the state customer, of course, subject to the good faith of the contractor.

The reason for the dispute was a government contract, which Translink Ltd was unable to fully fulfill due to sanctions and the government customer considered that the contractor was obliged to pay a penalty. But the appeal pointed out: the lifting of restrictions on parallel imports does not indicate that the consequences of a significant change in circumstances could be overcome by Russian companies instantly, taking into account the difficulty of establishing logistics ties with foreign counterparties and the effect of sanctions.

“The court recognized that fulfillment of the contract at that time was impossible for reasons beyond the control of the supplier,” notes Elena Legashova.

Of course, in customs disputes, it is more difficult for the declarant to prove his case when making deliveries as part of parallel imports. You can read the full text of the article at https://www.dp.ru