The federal law on Amending the Federal Law on Export Control was drafted by the Ministry of Defence in accordance with the Presidential instructions dated December 6, 2010 and the plan of measures to improve the government regulation of the customs administration of high-tech product exports and export control procedures for high-tech products (Government Directive No 1974-r dated November 12, 2010).

The draft law calls for stimulating the growth of Russian high-tech product exports and for creating conditions for innovative development through improved export control procedures and by lifting excessive administrative barriers, while ensuring compliance with Russia’s security interests and with its international commitments in the field of export control.

The federal law reads that state accreditation is a mandatory condition for the issue of general export licences, which can only be issued to Russian legal entities that have created an internal (corporate) export control programme. The bill also includes the possibility of providing state accreditation to other Russian participants of foreign economic activity that have created an internal export control programme.

It is planned to extend the use of general export licences for some kinds of controlled technologies.

The bill also reads that the President must take decisions to approve a regime of licence-free export for various types of controlled products to a number of states, and also to terminate or suspend such an opportunity (the export of controlled technologies is not stipulated). This regime can only be approved for countries, the domestic and foreign policy of which complies with generally recognised principles and norms of international law on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles, and which honour the international export control regimes and/or have allied relations with Russia or are members of integration associations, of which Russia is a member.

It is stipulated that only the Government will be authorised to submit to the President proposals on the list of foreign countries and controlled products, for which a special licence-free export regime is planned to be established (terminated).

If such a regime is approved, the Government will be authorised to determine the procedure for foreign economic operation with regard to these controlled products.

The bill also sets out requirements to the Russian participants of foreign economic operation to enable them to export controlled products in the framework of the licence-free export regime.

A number of amendments concern the identification of controlled products and technologies:

- Article 24 of the federal law is to be amended to give the Government the power to establish the identification procedure and requirements to the documentary form of identification results, to determine the range of products, information, work, services and intellectual property (copyright) for identification;

- the powers to conduct identification are to be given to publicly funded research establishments and universities that have created internal export control programs and have state accreditation certificates to help economic entities that they have been established to promote the products and technologies, which are owned by the said research establishments and universities, in foreign markets. The goal is to reduce administrative pressure on the economic entities;

- Article 241 is to be added to the federal law to introduce the post of export control experts because the identification of controlled products and technologies requires knowledge, skills and experience and must also be accomplished without violating the relevant foreign trade bans and limitations. Export control experts working for a legal entity or sole proprietor will have the power to conduct identification examinations of products and technologies and also to formulate and certify the results of examinations by signing a document. At the moment, only the head, or any other legal representative of the legal entity who has been granted state accreditation for internal export control, has these powers.

The bill therefore outlines the following:

- qualification requirements for export control experts;

- the authorities of export control experts and the conditions for receiving qualification certificates and upgrading qualification;

- the grounds and procedure for revoking qualification certificates;

- the deadline after which the experts whose certificate was revoked can request another certificate.

The implementation of these measures will enable foreign economic operators to independently but professionally conduct the identification of controlled products and technologies. This will also enable authorised federal executive agencies to properly control the persons who have the power to conduct identification.

Thus, the amendments proposed in the bill are very important and will fill gaps in the current legislation.

The draft law was considered and approved at a Government meeting on June 17, 2013.