A report from a major newspaper notes that Maksut Shadayev, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, frames the infrastructure payment to Russian Post as a required step. He acknowledges it may not win broad popularity, but it is being pursued for practical reasons.
The proposal centers on compelling marketplace owners and other e-commerce players to make an infrastructure contribution to Russian Post totaling 0.5% of the quarterly turnover of goods. This means the payment would apply to businesses with annual revenue surpassing a threshold and could translate into an aggregate flow of roughly 24 to 25 billion rubles each year for the postal service. Supporters argue the move would strengthen an essential logistics backbone and create a predictable revenue stream for postal operations tied to online commerce.
However, even with backing from the Ministry of Digital Development, the Federal Antimonopoly Service anticipates that the policy could drive up the prices of goods. Market participants and analysts from leading Russian marketplaces have expressed concerns, pointing out that Russian Post relies on multiple income sources and that the proposed charge might be absorbed into product pricing rather than resulting in a straightforward revenue bump for the postal agency.
Earlier statements from the Ministry of Digital Development outlined the rationale behind backing for Russian Post and its broader role in supporting infrastructure for digital trade. Industry observers are watching how these plans would unfold in practice, including the administrative process, exemptions for small and mid-sized sellers, and the overall impact on consumer prices.
In related regulatory discussions, Roskomnadzor has emphasized the importance of enforcing content rules, including a case involving messaging platforms where refusal to remove prohibited information has drawn attention to the regulatory environment surrounding digital services and data handling. The broader conversation underscores the evolving relationships among government agencies, e-commerce platforms, and postal services as the digital economy grows in scale and complexity.