The Russian government has introduced a moratorium on inspections of enterprises and entrepreneurs

On March 10, 2022, Decree of the Government of Russia No. 336 “On the specifics of the organization and implementation of state control (supervision), municipal control” (hereinafter referred to as the Decree) was adopted, according to which a moratorium on scheduled business inspections will be in effect until the end of 2022.

At the same time, scheduled inspections will be retained only in relation to a small closed list of control objects, within the framework of certain types of federal control (supervision): sanitary and epidemiological, veterinary and fire control, as well as industrial safety supervision.

Instead of a scheduled inspection, a preventive visit is allowed.

In accordance with the Decree, unscheduled control measures are allowed only in exceptional cases:

- in case of a threat to life and causing serious harm to the health of citizens;

- in case of a threat to the defense of the country and the security of the state,

- in the event of a threat of natural and man-made emergencies;

- within the framework of regional licensing control over the implementation of entrepreneurial activities for the management of apartment buildings and regional housing supervision in the event of a complaint (complaints) from citizens for the protection (restoration) of their violated rights.

At the same time, such checks must be coordinated with the prosecutor's office.

Unscheduled inspections can also be carried out on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation (without the consent of the prosecutor's office).

Scheduled inspections are subject to cancellation, and ongoing ones are subject to completion in the manner and within the time limits specified by the Decree (from 3 to 5 business days).

In turn, the issuance of prescriptions based on the results of control measures without interaction is not allowed (monitoring compliance with mandatory requirements, on-site examination).

The deadline for the execution of issued orders is automatically extended by 90 calendar days.

Control authorities are not entitled to initiate a case on an administrative offense without carrying out a control (supervisory) measure and its completion.

At the same time, the restrictions established by the Decree do not apply to the special regime of state control (supervision), the regime of permanent state control (supervision).

The relevant Decree of the Government of Russia was adopted within the framework of Federal Law No. 46-FZ of March 8, 2022 (“On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”), which gives the Government of Russia the right to make the necessary decisions to promptly support the economy and business.

These measures will help avoid a significant increase in inspections in 2022 compared to 2021 and previous years, which will significantly reduce the administrative burden on a large number of enterprises.