Russia wants to exempt SMEs from western software fees – minister

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry has announced plans to exempt small and medium-sized businesses from upcoming fees for using Western software. The government is considering charging organisations for utilising foreign software as a means to support domestic IT development.

“We believe that small and medium businesses should not pay for western software,” Russian Digital Minister Maksut Shadayev told reporters at the Digital Evolution forum on Monday.

Shadayev has talked about charging a fee for using the software of vendors who have exited Russia since 2022. For instance, his ministry drafted a bill to create a kind of special account or fund into which users of western software would pay. These funds would then support Russian software developers.

The fee proposal, part of the Data Economy national project, aims to incentivize the adoption of Russian software alternatives. However, the ministry has clarified that small businesses will be shielded from these charges. The exact implementation details of the fee structure are expected to be unveiled in September.

The exact implementation details of the fee structure are expected to be unveiled in September.

In June 2023, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin indicated that this initiative might involve mandatory fees for organisations using foreign software, with half of the proceeds earmarked for grants and subsidised loans to bolster Russian IT companies.

Attribution: Interfax