The Domestic Soft association of developers, uniting more than 220 IT companies, asked the Ministry of Digital Development to avoid easing products’ entry into the register of Russian software. Developers believe, the simplification may lead to emergence of foreign software clones.

The plans of the Ministry of Digital Development to simplify the procedure for including products in the register and introduce a notification system were announced in early June. According to Minister Maksut Shadayev, “first, the software should be included in the register, and then, if the examination shows that there are foreign components, it should be excluded”.

The Ministry also proposed including products of developers with over 25% share of Russian capital in the register, provided that Russian residents have actual control over the company’s activities. Only products with Russian capital share of more than 50% can be included in the register under the current rules.

The Domestic Soft association also noted that “having a blocking share of 25% plus one share, it is possible only to cancel the decisions of the board of directors, but not to make strategic decisions on the future of the enterprise and its products”. According to Renat Lashin, the association’s executive director, with the sanctions and attack on the Russian IT infrastructure, the entry procedure should not be simplified, but further restricted. This measure will provide the transition to Russian software for critical information infrastructure owners since January 1, 2025, he says.

Original in Russian