Article 171.1. Production, acquisition, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products without labeling and (or) application of information provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation
1. Production, acquisition, storage, transportation for marketing purposes or sale of goods and products without labeling and (or) application of information provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, if such marking and (or) application of such information is mandatory (except for products specified in parts three and five of this article), or production, acquisition, storage, transportation for marketing purposes or sale of goods and products using knowingly counterfeit means of identification for marking goods, committed on a large scale -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to three years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years with a fine of up to eighty thousand rubles or the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months.
1.1. The same acts committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to four years, or by imprisonment for the same term with a fine of up to one hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year or without it.
2. The acts provided for in part one of this article, committed:
a) an organized group;
b) on an especially large scale, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to six years with a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to five years or without it.
3. Production, acquisition, storage, transportation for marketing purposes or sale of food products without labeling and (or) application of information provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, if such marking and (or) application of such information is mandatory (except for products specified in part five of this article), or production, acquisition, storage, transportation for marketing purposes or sale of food products using deliberately counterfeit means of identification for marking goods, committed on a large scale -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to four hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to three years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years with a fine of up to eighty thousand rubles or the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months.
4. The acts provided for in part three of this article, committed:
a) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group;
b) on an especially large scale, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to six years with a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to five years or without it.
5. Production, acquisition, storage, transportation for the purpose of marketing or sale of unlabeled alcoholic products subject to mandatory marking with excise stamps or federal special stamps, as well as unmarked tobacco products subject to marking with special (excise) stamps, committed on a large scale -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to three years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years with a fine of up to one hundred twenty thousand rubles, or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months.
6. Acts provided for in part five of this article, committed:
a) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group;
b) on an especially large scale, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of four hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to six years with a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to five years or without it.
Notes. 1. Large size in parts three and four of this article is recognized as the cost of unlabeled food products exceeding four hundred thousand rubles, and especially large - one million five hundred thousand rubles.
2. Large size in parts five and six of this article is recognized as the cost of unlabeled alcoholic beverages and (or) unlabeled tobacco products exceeding one hundred thousand rubles, and especially large - one million rubles.
- Article 171. Illegal entrepreneurship
- Article 171.2. Illegal organization and conduct of gambling
5.What consequences can there be in the case of illegal trade in alcohol and tobacco products?
Illegal trade in alcohol
When plotting illegal actions, many defendants think that they will not face criminal sentences. At least they certainly won't get caught. But, as practice shows, law enforcement agencies are not asleep. And the media is replete with criminal cases from different regions of our country.
Thus, in one of the cases, members of an organized group planned to purchase illegal alcoholic beverages, covered with obviously counterfeit federal special stamps, or without them, on the territory of the Russian Federation, at reduced prices, with delivery of the purchased alcoholic beverages to garages. The result of illegal trade was a very real criminal sentence under paragraph “a” of Part 6 of Art. 171.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and paragraph “a”, part 2 of Art. 171.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Sentence of the Sharypovsky City Court (Krasnoyarsk Territory) dated September 17, 2020 No. 1-121/2019 1-3/2020).
At the end of January 2021, police discovered 8 tons of unlabeled alcohol in Stary Oskol. The 50-year-old suspect rented premises and stored about 8 tons of alcohol in them, poured into cans and bottles. According to preliminary data, the man sold the products at retail and in small wholesale quantities through friends. A criminal case has been initiated under Part 5 of Art. 171.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The perpetrator faces up to 3 years in prison.
And in March 2021, Volgograd police officers detained suspects in the possession, acquisition, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages without labeling. Income from illegal activities amounted to almost 14 million rubles. Operatives conducted searches in the company's office, retail outlets and 2 rented warehouse premises. Over 52,000 liters of brewing products were seized without labeling and information about the manufacturer, composition and other characteristics of the product. A criminal case has been initiated under Part 4 of Art. 171.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A preventive measure was chosen for the attackers in the form of a ban on certain actions.
Illicit trade in tobacco products
The sale of unmarked cigarettes is also an object of making illegal profit. Not long ago, in the Moscow region, more than 1 million packs of unmarked tobacco products were seized from illicit trafficking and members of an organized group who were selling them were detained. During searches, computers, telephones, seals and stamps, as well as over a million packs of well-known brands of cigarettes with a total value of over 180 million rubles were confiscated from suspects and warehouses in Moscow and the Moscow region. A criminal case has been initiated under paragraph 6 of Article 171.1. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The sanction of the article provides for a penalty of six years in prison.
Judicial practice: sentences and punishment under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
- Ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated March 26, 2019 N 649-O CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION RULING dated March 26, 2019 N 649-O ON THE REFUSAL TO ACCEPT A CITIZEN’S COMPLAINT FOR CONSIDERATION...
- Appeal ruling of the Board of Appeal... THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION APPEAL DECISION dated December 21, 2018 N APL18-603 Appeal Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in...
- Decision of the Supreme Court: Determination N 203-APU17-21... THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Case No. 203-APU17-21 APPEAL DECISION Moscow August 31, 2021 Judicial Collegium for Military Personnel of the Supreme...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENARY OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated December 27, 2002 N 29 ON JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN CASES OF THEFT,...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENARY OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION of November 15, 2021 N 48 ON THE PRACTICE OF APPLICATION BY COURTS OF LEGISLATION GOVERNING FEATURES...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENAUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated June 25, 2021 N 18 ON JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN CASES OF CRIMES,...
- Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated December 5, 2018 N 126-P18 ON RESUMING PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE DUE TO NEW...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENAUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated December 17, 2021 N 43 ON SOME ISSUES OF JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN CASES...
- Ruling of the ECtHR dated 02/14/2017 EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS THIRD SECTION CASE “MASLOVA VS. RUSSIAN FEDERATION” (Complaint No. 15980/12) JUDGMENT…
- Decision of the Supreme Court: Determination No. 38-АПУ17-2 dated... THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION No. 38-АПУ17-2 APPEAL DECISION Moscow March 1, 2021 Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court...
6.What does the coming day have in store for us?
At the time of recording the video, draft Federal Law No. 972623-7 was adopted by the State Duma in the first reading (02/10/2021).
It changes the punishment for violating the rules of labeling of medicines and other goods.
Now the production and sale of drugs with or without labeling violations will cost an official a fine of 5 thousand to 10 thousand rubles, and a company - from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles. The unmarked goods themselves will be confiscated.
A similar penalty (not currently available) is planned to be introduced for the putting into circulation, as well as the purchase, sale or other transfer that is not related to the putting into circulation of unlabeled goods (except for medicines).
In case of repeated violation, the fine is doubled :
- for company officials - from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles;
- for companies - from 100 thousand to 500 thousand rubles or business suspension for up to 90 days.
Unmarked items will also be confiscated.
The bill proposes to introduce liability for repeated commission of actions in the form of confiscation of the instrument of the crime - production equipment that was used to manufacture unmarked goods subject to mandatory labeling.
About the law
The Criminal Code deals with running a business without registration or without a license. Thus, if an entrepreneur is already a tax agent, but conducts activities without special permission, this is also punishable to the fullest extent of the law (Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Types of business that require a license are specified in a special law adopted in this regard. For example, special permission is required when conducting banking activities, when trading in fuels and lubricants and other similar forms of doing business. This is necessary in order to protect the market from unscrupulous businessmen, since licensed activities imply special control over the actions of these enterprises.
Investigation methodology
Identification of these crimes consists of finding signs that will allow us to say that the entrepreneur’s activities are carried out illegally.
There are also some nuances here. The investigator must find out exactly what facts should be taken into account and when a business can still be considered illegal. In addition, the profit made in the process of illegal business is also important.
If this is a large amount (including property), from 1.5 million rubles, the crime is qualified under Part 1 of Article 171, if in a particularly large amount (from 6 million rubles), Article 171 is applied. , Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
First, you need to decide, in general, under which article to qualify the crime, and only then collect evidence based on the content of the indictment.
For example, if an entrepreneur is registered with the tax authority and has a permit for any type of activity, but in fact the businessman makes transactions of a related or similar type, then this should be equated to doing business without a license.
Why is this happening? This is due to the fact that each activity has its own rules and requirements, starting from personnel and ending with the building where the enterprise will be located. Therefore, in order to avoid problems with the law when carrying out several related types of work (services, production), you need to obtain a license for each.
In addition, if such a permit already exists, but the validity period has expired and the entrepreneur continues to engage in this work, this is also considered a violation (Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with comments).
Difficulties in qualification
The decision of the Supreme Court, which was published on November 17, 2004, on practice related to cases of illegal entrepreneurship, indicates all the difficulties and aspects of qualification and imposition of punishments. So, according to the document, the following difficulties occur:
— definition of the subject;
— differentiation of adjacent trains;
- the concept of income - the difference between a one-time transaction and entrepreneurship itself.
Regarding income, it has already been said above that such should be understood as all money received, taking into account expenses incurred. If several persons were involved in the case, then the income is taken into account in the aggregate.
The difference between one-time income generation and a business is focus. If a person bought, for example, a mobile phone in China, and then sold it in Russia at a higher price, this is not considered entrepreneurship and is not punishable by law.
A transaction that was aimed at making a profit, further investing money in the purchase of goods and its sale, is considered the activity of an entrepreneur.
Since Article 171 is of a blanket nature, it is possible to clarify what entrepreneurship itself is in Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
They talk about related offenses if the crimes belong to the same category (in this case, the economic sphere), and the articles in their disposition indicate similar acts.
Related compounds
As an example, we can consider the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 171 and 159. In both cases, the perpetrator essentially commits theft. Only the first article deals specifically with business aimed at making profits, which will be of a recurring nature, and the second article deals with obtaining (illegally) property, movable or immovable, including money. At the same time, fraud can be either associated with entrepreneurship or be the result of illegal actions of an ordinary citizen.
Violations
Thus, if a citizen decides to start a business (an activity that involves the systematic receipt of any income), then he needs to register with the tax office at the location of the enterprise and/or obtain a license.
If it is revealed that neither one nor the other exists, the activity falls under the description contained in Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - illegal entrepreneurship. Depending on how many people took part in this and how much profit the businessman has already made, a sentence is passed.
Features of crimes
It is definitely worth noting the position of the Supreme Court in relation to entrepreneurs with a license from another entity. According to the Federal Law “On Licensing...” the validity of the permit is not fixed territorially, that is, you can organize a business in one region and obtain a license in another (if, for example, there are branches throughout the country).
However, if any region has adopted a regulatory act that contradicts the laws of the Federation or is not within the competence of these bodies, and a businessman, relying on this act, received a license, he bears neither criminal nor administrative liability.
Often, along with the classification of the crime described by Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, judicial practice designates several other forms of illegal acts, such as money laundering (Article 174), use of someone else’s trademark (Article 180) and the like.
The court's decision
A conviction under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation must necessarily contain in the descriptive and motivational part the reasons why it was decided that a certain activity of a citizen was entrepreneurial.
In relation to a crime, when as a result not only money was received, but also valuables or property, a sentence is passed, where the reasons for the turnover of such income in favor of the state are indicated in the descriptive and motivational part.
The position of a citizen who is brought as an accused that he did not know about the need to register or obtain a license does not matter: ignorance of the law does not excuse him from liability. Moreover, if we talk about permission to carry out certain types of activities, their list is so small that it is simply impossible to get confused. It is unlikely that the blasting manufacturer, for example, did not know that he needed to obtain a license for this.
In addition, any large companies with which a businessman plans to cooperate, when establishing partnerships in any area that is subject to mandatory licensing, require this document.
Determination of the culprit
The issue related to the subject of the crime is considered in the resolution quite objectively. The message that punishment should be applied to a specific citizen does not allow for ambiguity and interpretation.
Thus, criminal liability for illegal activities, including related offenses, is borne by the person who, in one way or another, was appointed on a permanent or temporary basis as the head of the entire enterprise, including branches and representative offices (Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with commentaries). In simple terms, only the most important person is brought forward as the accused.
Employees working at this enterprise and carrying out instructions from its head are not responsible for the illegal activities of the head.
