Responsibility for moonshining in Russia and Ukraine in 2020

The authorities are always trying to keep the profitable alcohol production business in their hands, arguing this with guaranteed product quality and revenues to the treasury.

It is good or bad for the reader to judge, but I would like to be able to produce my own alcohol, and not only, in small volumes, not only for personal use, but also for sale, as craft and exclusive alcohol. To do this, we opened the laws of Russia and Ukraine and tried to study the legal issue on this topic. Read the result below…

Responsibility for moonshine in Russia

According to the laws of the Russian Federation, home brewing and the production of other alcoholic beverages for personal use is not prohibited. And even in 2002, the item “Responsibility for moonshine” was excluded from the number of administrative offenses.

But the production of moonshine and other alcoholic beverages for the purpose of marketing must be licensed in accordance with the Law “On State Regulation of the Production and Turnover of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcoholic and Alcohol-Containing Products”.

Violations of this law are regulated by Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. And liability is provided: a fine in the amount of 500 to 5 rubles with confiscation of raw materials, products and tools of production.

If the violation is classified as: “Illegal entrepreneurship”, “Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements”, then according to the Law of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 171 and 238):

  1. The amount of the fine can reach 300 rubles.

  2. Corrective labor for a period of 180 to 240 hours or arrest for a period of 4 to 6 months may be assigned.

  3. If the illegal activity led to the death of two or more persons, the perpetrators will be punished by imprisonment for a term of 4 to 10 years.

Responsibility for moonshine in Ukraine

In Ukraine, the production of moonshine, even for personal purposes without financial gain, is punishable by law. According to Art. 176 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the fine is from 3 to 10 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens of Ukraine.

The purchase of moonshine and other home-made alcoholic beverages entails a fine from 17 to 85 hryvnia (Article 177 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

Such severity and unwillingness of the authorities to legalize the home production of moonshine is justified by the fact that thanks to this, every year the state treasury is replenished by 1, and sometimes by 2 dollars.

According to experts, in the coming years, the abolition of punishment for the production of moonshine in Ukraine is not expected. And Ukrainians will continue to make moonshine illegally, while in Russia there are enterprises that are engaged in the production and sale of moonshine stills.

A brief excursion into the history of moonshine

The origin of moonshine in Europe and Russia began in the XNUMXth century. If the Europeans reacted with interest to innovations and began to experiment, then the Russian people reacted to this with apprehension.

The popularization of moonshine in Russia fell on the period of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Even on the territory of the Kremlin, the first tavern was opened, where this drink was poured for free. But only the personal guard of the king could try it.

And already under Godunov, state-owned taverns began to open, and the distribution of moonshine was profitable, because thanks to this, the treasury was replenished.

In the 96th century, moonshine flourished in Russia, and during this period it was possible to obtain a drink with a strength of XNUMX degrees. But everything changed after the formation of the Soviet Union. Stalin began the fight against home-brewing, and Khrushchev continued the fierce extermination of this trend.

So, for the manufacture of moonshine and moonshine stills for the purpose of sale, criminal liability was introduced – imprisonment from 6 to 7 years with confiscation of property, and for manufacture without a commercial purpose – imprisonment from 1 to 2 years with confiscation of the apparatus and moonshine products.

Relevance: 28.12.2017

Tags: vodka, mash, moonshine

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