The State Duma has passed a bill in the first reading that increases fourfold – from 15,000 to 60,000 rubles – the maximum size of payments from individuals for housing and communal services (HCS) for which no identification is required. Petr Shcherbachenko, Associate Professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, explained to aif.ru why this is necessary.
“Identification is the verification of a bank client’s identity for conducting transactions over 15,000 rubles,” the expert explained. “The main positive from the implementation of this initiative is the reduction of paperwork and simplification of the payment process for HCS.”
The bill’s developers note that in 2006, the maximum payment amount without identification was set at 30,000 rubles, and in 2009, it was lowered to 15,000 rubles. At the same time, at that time, separate payments for housing and communal services exceeded the maximum amount and required identification of the payer.
The expert reminded that in 2023, the average monthly payment for HCS was 3.3 times higher than in 2009 and already reached the existing limit in some regions of the Russian Federation (Moscow, territories of the Far North). In other words, in such regions, identification would soon be required for 30-50% of residents. Now, this requirement will be canceled.
Meanwhile, the amount of debt for HCS in Russia persistently hovers around the giant mark of 1.5 trillion rubles. But it may be difficult to blame the people for neglecting the obligation to pay “communal” on time. According to Rosstat data, the actual level of population payments in recent years is about 95%.
According to Chairman of the Board of the Union of Housing Organizations, member of the Housing and Utilities Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Krokhin, if you were to draw a social portrait of a Russian debtor, it turns out that the majority of ordinary people, for whom expenses for bread are more important than utility bills, pay promptly. And 95% of timely payments are mainly made by pensioners, budget employees, and large families.