In many countries of the modern world, it is legislatively fixed from what years alcohol is sold at retail, and bans on the sale of alcohol in certain places or at a specific time of the day, some days of the week (holiday dates) are established. All these measures are necessary conditions to protect the health and morality of the country's population.
The fact that alcohol has been sold in the Russian Federation since many years is defined in the relevant Federal Law and other regulatory documents related to state control over the production and sale of ethyl alcohol and alcohol-containing products, as well as restrictions on their consumption (drinking).
Federal Law of the Russian Federation, regulating the production and sale of alcohol
Alcohol is a food product made with or without ethyl alcohol and (or) using an alcohol-containing food product in which ethyl alcohol is present in more than 0.5% of the finished product (except for the products the list of which is established by the Government of the Russian Federation) .
The use of alcoholic drinks, of course, causes great harm to the health of an adult, and even less fragile body of a child. And since adolescents are not always able to assess the consequences that result from drinking alcohol, legislatively in many civilized countries the sale of alcohol and its use is prohibited for minors.
The regulation on how many years they sell alcohol in the Russian Federation is enshrined in the Federal Law of 22.11. 1995, number 171 "On state regulation of the production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products and on limiting the consumption of alcoholic products" (with the latest amendments and additions of June 29, 2015).
In the 16th article of the second chapter of this normative legal act, the prohibition of retail sales of alcohol to minors is prescribed, as well as a separate subparagraph indicates that they themselves are not allowed to use this product.
Recognition of a person by a minor
A minor is considered to be a citizen who has not reached the age with the implementation of which the Law of the Russian Federation connects the onset of full civil legal capacity. Civil legal capacity is the ability of a person to exercise and acquire civil rights through his actions, as well as to form and fulfill civil duties for himself. In accordance with Art. 21 GKRF man acquires such opportunities in full from 18 years.
In the case when the seller knows how many years they have been selling alcohol, but cannot determine whether the buyer has reached the age of 18, the former has the right to demand a document that identifies him and allows him to find out the age of the latter. This rule applies to foreign citizens and stateless entities in Russia.
Documents provided upon request of the seller
The list of documents that the buyer can provide as evidence of his age is established by the Order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia of 04.15.2011, under number 524. These include:
- passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- national passport;
- diplomat's passport;
- service passport;
- sailor's passport;
- military ID or certificate of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- temporary identity card of a citizen of Russia;
- passport of a citizen of another state;
- temporary residence permit in Russia;
- residence;
- refugee certificate;
- document on granting temporary asylum in the Russian Federation.
Administrative liability for violation of the rules for the sale of alcohol
A person who sells the appropriate product must know at what age they sell alcohol. If the norms established in FZ-171 are violated, in the part governing the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of majority, sanctions of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation or the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are applied to the offender. Namely, the retail sale of alcohol to children, if it does not contain a criminal offense, provides for a fine of 30 to 50 thousand rubles for citizens, from 100 to 200 thousand rubles for officials and from 300 to 500 thousand. rubles for legal entities.
Criminal liability for violation of the rules for the sale of alcohol
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment for the repeated sale of alcohol to minors. The violator will be required to pay a fine or be forced to corrective labor for up to 1 year with the removal of the right to be in certain positions or engage in a certain type of professional activity for up to 3 years (or without it). In the case of applying a sanction in the form of a fine, its amount will be 50-80 thousand rubles (salary or other income of the convicted person for 3-6 months).
The repeated sale of alcohol to children is considered the retail sale of this product to minors, if a citizen who violated the law was previously held administratively liable for a similar action within 180 days.
Alcohol use by children
In the event that alcohol still became available to persons under the age of 18, they drank it and are in a state of intoxication, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation punishes parents or legal representatives of children. So, article 20.22 establishes a fine for this violation in the amount of 1.5 to 2 thousand rubles.
In addition, the involvement of a minor in the use of alcohol is punishable by an administrative fine of 1.5 thousand rubles to 3 thousand rubles (Article 6.10 of the Administrative Code). And the same actions committed by the legal representatives of the child, his parents or persons who are entrusted with the responsibility for his education or upbringing - from 4 thousand rubles to 5 thousand rubles.
Law enforcement
In the Russian Federation, control over how many years they sell alcohol in retail stores has been carried out by police, prosecutors, inspectors of the federal executive authority (Rosalkoregulirovanie or Rospotrebnadzor) in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. In case of violations on the fact of verification, a protocol is drawn up with explanations of the misconduct and the sanctions applied in this case. A copy of the protocol is issued to the offender.
The fact how many years they sell alcohol in stores can and should be controlled by ordinary citizens. In the event that alcohol is sold illegally, any citizen has the right to file a corresponding complaint with the competent authorities.
Age qualification when selling alcohol in other countries
Today, in some countries, such as America, alcohol has been sold since the age of 21. And in Japan and Iceland, the age of purchase of this product is 20 years.
In the Russian Federation, so far, only unsuccessfully have proposals been made to increase the age threshold for the sale of alcohol from 18 to 21 years, as it was before under the Soviet Union, in 1985.
In fairness, it is worth noting that in some countries of the world they have been selling alcohol since the age of 16 or from the age of 14 (this often depends on the fact that legal maturity does not come at the age of 18, as in Russia, for example, but earlier). In several states, there are no age restrictions on the sale of alcohol.
Thus, from the foregoing, it becomes clear that alcohol has been sold in Russia since the age of 18, a violation of this rule entails the onset of administrative or criminal liability, and its implementation is systematically checked by the competent authorities.