Illegal logging

The system is supposed to provide information on i) the actual volume of harvested timber and its labelling (including the individual labelling of oak, beech and ash products for export); ii) companies and individuals, who have made timber transactions; and iii) declarations of such transactions etc. Parties on both sides of transactions involving timber are required to provide information to the EGAIS from 1 July, 2015. 107 As of 1 July, 2015, all legal entities and entrepreneurs dealing in wood, are required to submit an online declaration of all transactions in the form of an electronic document with an electronic signature to Rosleshoz , the operator of EGAIS. The form of the document and the procedure are set out by the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of 06.01.2015 № 11. Failure to submit, late submission or the provision of deliberately false information entails, as of 1 January 2016, an administrative fine. For officials the fine is between 5,000 and 20,000 rubles; for persons engaged in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, between 7,000 and 25,000 rubles; and for legal entities, between 100,000 and 200,000 rubles. In addition to these state measures, a number of national and international environmental organizations like WWF Russia and Greenpeace have been working to stop illegal logging in Russia. However, illegal logging still poses significant threat to forests and their biodiversity.

Pursuant to Part 1 of article 50.2 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, the wood of valuable forest species (oak, beech, ash) is subject to mandatory labelling by those engaged in its export from the Russian Federation. In addition, the Forest Code establishes the procedure for enumeration of tags, the requirements for their mounting, manufacturing and capabilities for scanning the information. The establishment of mandatory requirement for labelling of oak, beech and ash will allow to tighten the control of the foreign trade in valuable timber. Article 50.4 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, which entered into force on 1 July 2014, requires the presence of accompanying documentation for each shipment of transported timber other than quantities harvested by individuals for their own needs. It is estimated that individuals have declared up to 6 per cent of mercantile timber as being for their own needs. In 2012, the Russian Government included timber in the list of strategic goods to be accounted for when moving across the border. 105 During that year the Siberian customs office initiated 63 criminal cases, including 53 involving the smuggling of logs and timber products that were valued at half a billion rubles (US$ 15.1 million). 106

The Uniform State Automated Information System (EGAIS) for the accounting of timber was launched on January 1, 2015.

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