Russian media reported on 24 September 2026 that the government plans to introduce a recycling levy on office and consumer electronics from 1 December this year. Under the reported measure, people in the Russian Federation would pay the charge when purchasing mobile phones and laptops.
The reported basic levy would be 373 roubles for a smartphone and 746 roubles for a portable computer. Where the device’s brand and model are recorded in the product-marking system, the charge would reportedly be reduced to 250 roubles and 500 roubles respectively. If those details are absent, the rates would reportedly rise to 496 roubles for a smartphone and 992 roubles for a laptop.
The information was published by the Telegram channel Gulagru. The source material presents the measure as part of efforts to increase federal budget revenue, but does not provide an official government document or statement confirming the reported rates.
Commentary accompanying the report alleged that the levy would increase the cost of devices used for work, education and communication. It argued that higher prices could make modern technology less accessible and widen the digital divide.
The commentary also claimed that the measure would raise importers’ costs and create additional obstacles for businesses involved in parallel imports, particularly where product information was missing from the marking system. It described the differentiated rates as increasing administrative pressure and potentially making supply chains more expensive and less transparent.
Further claims in the source linked the reported levy to pressure on Russia’s federal budget, increased military spending and lower hydrocarbon revenues. These are assertions in the accompanying commentary and are not independently substantiated in the supplied material.
The commentary additionally forecast that higher prices for communications and computing equipment could affect small and medium-sized businesses, the information-technology sector, education and research. It said the measure would contribute to Russia’s technological isolation, although the source provides no quantitative assessment of these potential effects.
