A dispute with Rosprirodnadzor with regard to the ‘environmental fee’

This is a case in which we are advising the client in connection with a dispute with the environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor with regard to what is referred to as the ‘environmental fee’. This fee is an amount that manufacturers and importers of goods pay as an alternative to ensuring by themselves that waste from the use of the goods in question is properly disposed of. The case is currently in the pre-trial stage but has potential to go all the way to the highest courts given the importance of the matters at issue. 

We are advising the client in connection with a threatened dispute relating to the amount and method of calculating the fee. Within the frameworks of the project we have to assist the client in navigating a way through new and complex statutory provisions in relation to which there is almost no case law. 

Environmental law in Russia is currently developing rapidly, with the statutory requirements faced by our clients and the penalties for breaches having become much more stringent over recent years. In addition, there is little in the way of official government guidance or case law to shed light on exactly how the relevant new provisions of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences will be applied. Thus, the onus is very much on us to ensure that the governmental bodies interpret these important rules in a manner that is also just and reasonable for our client’s business.