The AEB sent its questions, comments and suggestions regarding price regulation

The Association of European Business sent questions, comments and proposals to the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade regarding the price growth regulation established by Directive No. 10 and Resolution No. 713.

It is proposed to exclude the following items from the list of categories of goods subject to price regulation:

• 120 - "juice, vegetable, fruit and vegetable nectar";
• 124 - "juice, fruit, berry nectar";
• 126 - "soft drinks";
• 127 - "drinking water".

In order to ensure the economic feasibility of doing business, it is proposed to establish for business entities the marginal rate of return used to determine the amount of profit to be included in the manufacturer's selling prices. This measure will make it possible to conduct economically justified activities and at the same time ensure control over the level of growth in the cost of products and the fairness of pricing.

The introduced regulation of pricing will lead to the liquidation of official importers - representatives of manufacturers and right holders of goods, which, in turn, will entail:

• reduction of tax revenues to the budget in connection with the suspension of the activities of these legal entities and their liquidation;
• reduction and dismissal of employees of these enterprises;
• the emergence of counterfeit products and gray imports instead of official sales through brand representative offices (there is a high risk of importing counterfeit goods from the territory of the Russian Federation, which has faced the withdrawal of many international brands due to sanctions);
• reduction of budget revenues related to the implementation of mandatory procedures for checking the compliance of goods with the regulatory requirements of the Republic of Belarus and the EAEU; the emergence of public health risks associated with the quality of food and non-food products not confirmed by inspection bodies;
• reduction of marketing budgets for the development of international brands, which will negatively affect the advertising industry of the Republic of Belarus; deterioration of the investment climate in the Republic of Belarus and, as a result, a decrease in the production, economic, social and financial potential of the country.