Federal Law No. 186-FZ of 26.06.2026 established the principle of "one license — one commercial facility". If a company or sole proprietor has several stores, a permit is issued for each of them. The delivery trade is regulated separately: a license is required for each vehicle.
The state fee is 20,000 rubles for each year of the license. The maximum term is five years, the minimum is determined by the applicant himself. A one—year permit will cost 20,000 rubles, and a five-year permit will cost 100,000 rubles. For a chain with ten stores, five-year licensing will require 1 million rubles in fees alone.
Licenses are issued by the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Before submitting an application, it is necessary to check the status of the unified tax account: if, on the 1st day of the month of application, the negative balance of the tax exceeds 3,000 rubles, the licensing authority will send a notification of the elimination of the violation. An additional condition is the repayment of unpaid administrative fines for violations in the sphere of tobacco trafficking.
The practical preparation procedure includes several steps: to make a list of all facilities with tobacco products, determine the required license period for each, include the state fee in the budget of expenses and submit applications before March 1, 2027.
The legislator provided for the second stage of tightening. Starting from March 1, 2028, the requirements for a retail facility will come into force: the minimum area is 5 square meters. m, while the region has the right to increase this threshold by no more than twice. Until the specified date, the requirements for the area and the right to the object are not applied, which gives the business a little more than a year to bring the premises into compliance.
In parallel with licensing training, sellers should check the registration in the state information system for monitoring goods, setting up cash registers and compliance with the current rules for the sale of labeled products - violations in this part may become an independent reason for refusal or suspension of the license.
Related materials:
- Laws for business from October 2026: marketplaces, VAT and customs — which laws introduce licensing of the tobacco market
- Starting from August 20, vapes and alcohol are strategically important goods — what kind of responsibility already threatens for the illegal import of tobacco
- Import label requirements: what is written in the law and how it ignores the market — what requirements for imported goods will be checked before issuing a license
