The Cabinet of Ministers generally supported the project to regulate payments for digital subscriptions

 The Government of the Russian Federation generally supported the draft law on the protection of citizens' rights when registering digital subscriptions, but with the condition that comments be finalized. The official review of the Cabinet of Ministers is available to TASS.

“The Government of the Russian Federation supports the bill, subject to its revision taking into account these comments,” the document says.

The authors of the initiative explained that at the moment, some services do not warn the client about the next payment, even if it is the first charge after the end of the free period. Subscription renewal often occurs automatically, without the user’s consent. Because of this, people do not have time to cancel the service in time.

The new bill proposed to oblige sellers to notify consumers about the upcoming write-off one day before the next payment. If money is debited without notification, the service will be obliged to return it.

It also stipulates that the supplier must provide the service until the end of the prepaid period if the user refuses to further renew the subscription. In addition, the bill prohibits the seller from debiting money from a client’s bank card previously linked to an online store if he has removed it from the site.

The proposed date for entry into force of the amendments is March 1, 2024. According to legislators, this is important for adapting services to new requirements. For the same reason, the bill does not yet provide for administrative liability for violation of these norms. Punishment may be introduced later, based on the monitoring results.

Cabinet position

The  Russian government believes that the concept of the bill as a whole deserves attention. However, some points contradict current legislation and therefore need to be improved.

In addition, according to the Cabinet of Ministers, it is necessary to adjust certain wording to eliminate legal uncertainty and evaluative concepts such as “regular receipt”, “regular access”, and also taking into account the fact that periodic payments are not a form of non-cash payments. It is also planned to finalize the clause related to the moment of termination of the subscription agreement.

The government especially drew attention to the fact that the regulation of digital subscriptions must be approached carefully. “When finalizing the bill, it is necessary to take into account that additional regulation in this area should not lead to an unreasonable increase in the cost of subscriptions, as this will negatively affect the interests of consumers,” the review emphasizes.

The Cabinet of Ministers also indicated that the timing of the entry into force of innovations must be brought into line with the provisions of the federal law “On Mandatory Requirements in the Russian Federation.” According to it, mandatory requirements must come into force either from March 1 or September 1 of the corresponding year, but not earlier than 90 days after the official publication of the document, unless otherwise provided by federal law, presidential decree or international treaty.

“The composition of the legal relations in which it is necessary to apply the procedure provided for by the bill, and the content of such a procedure,” the review says.