The “moratorium” on business inspections: true or false?

There is a common perception that there has been a “moratorium” on business inspections in Russia since 2020. We will try to debunk that myth by telling you what this “moratorium” really implies in 2023.


The “moratorium” applies to:

1. Scheduled inspections
Ordinary business activities that do not involve hazardous factors and risks.

2. Unscheduled inspections
Inspections that are carried out on the basis of the well-known laws – on state / municipal control (supervision) as well as the laws on the protection of the rights of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs while exercising control (supervision), except for the following cases:

• threat or infliction of harm to life and grievous body harm;
• threat or infliction of harm to the state defense and security;
• threat or existence of a natural or man-made emergency;
• identifying risk indicators of violation of mandatory requirements (read as – “in any situation at the discretion of the competent authority”);
• by decision of the Federal Tax Service as a part of its supervision of compliance with the requirements for the use of POS devices;
• y decision of the State Labor Inspection in case of employees claims on mass violations of payroll schedule;
• by decision of Roskomnadzor in case of online distribution of databases with personal data;
• by order of the President of the Russian Federation or the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (his deputy);
• at the prosecutor’s request in case of human rights and freedoms violation;
• upon occurrence of specific events within the framework of construction, environmental supervision, control over protection of cultural heritage, medicine circulation;
• upon the submission of documents for the purpose of obtaining licenses, permits and accreditations;

in specific cases of violations in the sphere of housing and public utilities and alcoholic beverages.


The “moratorium” does NOT apply to:

1. Scheduled inspections
Companies that fall under:

• hazardous production facilities of hazard class II;
• high and extremely high-risk categories (nature of business is not significant);
• сlass II hydraulic structures.

2. Unscheduled inspections
Carried out as usual:

• tax and foreign exchange control;
• anti-trust and advertising cases;
• insurance supervision;
• control over the insurance premiums paid to the funds;
• customs control;
• state control and supervision of the personal data processing;
• public prosecutor's supervision.

The list is not closed.


Our recommendations

AB Lawyers has successfully prepared more than 15 clients for inspections by the State Labor Inspection, Roskomnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor, and the Prosecutor's Office since 2022. Our team specializes in both pre-inspection audits and full support during the inspection.

We have outlined 5 basic rules for you to follow in case there is an upcoming inspection:

1. ask for the document (decision, ruling, etc.) on the basis of which the inspection is carried out;
2. check the legitimacy of the grounds of the inspection (whether the company does not fall under exemptions, whether the necessary authorizations have been obtained, etc.);
3. ask the inspector for his official ID and credentials;
4. prepare documents for the employee who will represent the company during the inspection (order, power of attorney, job description);
5. insist on being given the time required by the law to provide the requested documents and information (get a written request) and, if necessary, ask for an extension of timeframes.