‘They pay less than ordinary citizens’: fines for non-payment of parking by legal entities to be doubled in Tatarstan

“Those who use vehicles for commercial purposes pay less than ordinary citizens”

In Tatarstan, penalties for non-payment of municipal parking may be tightened — this initiative was discussed on 27 May at a joint meeting of the State Council Committee on Legality and Law Enforcement and its expert council. Currently, both individuals and legal entities face the same fine of 2,500 rubles for this violation. However, the penalty for legal entities may be increased to 5,000 rubles. The corresponding draft was previously published on the State Council’s website.

As it was noted at the meeting, in Kazan, 80% of legal entities that do not pay for parking belong to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the fines imposed on them are only 50% of the full amount.

“They pay a fine of 1,250 rubles — even less than ordinary citizens — occupying the most in-demand parking spaces in the city centre all day long, depriving those who truly need to park of the opportunity. This creates an absurd situation: a fine of 2,500 rubles is set for everyone, yet SMEs receive additional benefits. As a result, those who use vehicles for commercial purposes pay less than ordinary citizens,” says Alexander Chubarov, the chairman of the State Council Committee on Legality and Law Enforcement.

He added that legal entities typically use vehicles to generate profit and have the ability to properly organise drivers’ work. Therefore, violations of parking rules by them require “a higher level of responsibility.”

Transporting cargo without a tarpaulin will be classified as a separate offence

Penalties will also be changed for drivers who transport soil, waste, bulk construction materials, and similar items in the bed of a dump truck without a tarpaulin. Currently, individuals face a warning or a fine of 2,000 to 3,500 rubles for this. Legal entities, however, are fined between 200,000 and 500,000 rubles.

The violation is now proposed to be classified as a separate offence due to its “public danger and in order to uphold the principle of fair and proportionate administrative punishment,” Alexander Chubarov explains. The Code of Administrative Offences of Tatarstan may be supplemented with a new article — 3.19 “Violation of requirements for the use of local public roads.” It provides for a fine of 5,000 rubles for individuals and 50,000 rubles for legal entities.

Lawmakers propose to hold offenders accountable through a simplified procedure, without drawing up a protocol. The key condition is that the violation is recorded by photo and video surveillance cameras.

Number of water-related fatalities in Tatarstan increases by 42%

The meeting discussed safety not only on the roads but also on the water. Since the beginning of this year, 19 people have died in water-related incidents in Tatarstan. This is an increase of 42.1% compared to the same period last year, Regina Gayazova, the head of the Water Safety Department at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (Emercom) of Russia for the Republic of Tatarstan, reported at the State Council meeting. Seven citizens died during the ice thaw period — attributed to an early spring. The causes of death for the remaining 10 individuals are still being clarified.

Gayazova added that the Emercom proposes drafting a law banning access to spring ice. Currently, citizens face a fine of 1,500 to 2,000 rubles for going onto ice less than 7 cm thick. However, applying this rule in spring is difficult: the ice thickness can reach 30 to 40 cm, yet venturing onto it remains dangerous. “The ice is melting, its structure fragile. And it is difficult to hold people accountable for going onto it,” Gayazova explained in an interview with Realnoe Vremya.

Year after year, the main cause of fatalities on water bodies remains swimming in unauthorised areas, noted Regina Gayazova (pictured right).

This year, two more residents of Tatarstan died in incidents involving small vessels. One accident occurred in the Mamadysh district — the victim was a resident of Kirov Oblast. A boat carrying three men capsized on the water: two, wearing life jackets, managed to swim to the riverbank, while the third, without safety equipment, did not survive. Another incident took place in the Tukaevsky district — the deceased also was not wearing a life jacket.

Last year, the republic recorded two collisions with piers and three incidents of vehicles hitting recreational users, including a spearfisher and a person paddling on a SUP board. Over the past five years, such accidents have claimed 25 victims in total.

“Beaches are opened, additional patrol posts are installed, yet people continue to die”

Regina Gayazova pointed out that year after year, the main cause of fatalities on water bodies is swimming in unauthorised areas. Since 2018, Tatarstan has been focused on increasing the number of designated, well-maintained beaches. Over seven years, their number has doubled.

Last year, 60 new swimming areas were opened in Tatarstan. This year, 54 corresponding declarations have been submitted. However, the speaker lamented that 13 districts still do not have a single municipal beach.

According to the agency, thanks to the measures taken, the number of deaths during the swimming season has decreased by 38% — from 71 people in 2018 to 44 in 2024. However, not everything is so optimistic, believes State Council committee member Ildar Shamilov. He pointed out that, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations’ report, the number of fatalities has increased in some districts — for example, in the Zelenodolsk district from four to nine.

“What exactly has happened in these districts? I know some of them partially, and measures are being taken. So why do people not only continue to die but their numbers are increasing? We open beaches, set up additional patrol posts, spend federal, regional, and municipal funds, yet fatalities still occur — and are rising. Zelenodolsk — increase, Laishevo — increase, Spass — increase, Muslyumovo — increase, Mamadysh — increase, and in Bugulma, the same level is maintained. This means further measures are needed,” he lamented.

The main measure is prevention, emphasised Regina Gayazova. The agency constantly urges citizens to choose designated swimming areas equipped with rescue stations. “Overall, there is a decline, people are listening. There are those whose water safety awareness is increasing,” she noted.

“Given the large number of municipalities that simply do not respond to requests about what has been done, prevention efforts at the local level are insufficient. Local municipal authorities are not doing enough to prevent emergencies; everything has been placed on the Ministry of Emergency Situations under federal law. From my perspective, it is a sad picture despite the positive trend,” replied Ildar Shamilov.