The Nizhny Novgorod Legislative Assembly adopted in the second reading a law banning “spills”

On April 25, 2024, the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region considered in the second reading a bill banning “spills”.

Let us remind you that we are talking about changes to the law “On the regulation of certain legal relations in the field of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products in the Nizhny Novgorod region.” The law was adopted in the first reading in March.

The changes concern restrictions on the sale of beer, cider, poiret and mead when providing catering services in premises located in apartment buildings, extensions to them or in adjacent areas.

Establishments with status of a restaurant, bar, cafe, buffet. At the same time, such types as snack bars, fast food establishments, etc. will be prohibited.

The second change is a ban on the sale of any alcoholic beverages from 23:00 to 09:00 in catering establishments located in apartment buildings, extensions to them, as well as in adjacent territories, the boundaries of which are determined by local self-government bodies. Restaurants will not be subject to such restrictions. Let us remember that during the discussion of the issue in the first reading, they planned to remove the norm, since there is no clear definition of what is considered a restaurant. However, this norm was retained for the second reading. In addition, catering facilities in hotels that have passed the mandatory classification will not be subject to the ban.

For the second reading, this norm was clarified by the fact that if local self-government bodies themselves have not determined the boundaries, then the restrictions will apply to those establishments that are located at a distance of at least 35 meters in a straight line from apartment buildings.

The ban on sales at night will not apply to catering facilities located on areas with high tourist attractiveness. The list of such territories is approved in the annex to the law. This list can be changed based on proposals from local self-government bodies, agreed upon with the Ministry of Tourism.

For the second reading, the list was significantly reduced. If previously it had eight districts, now only Nizhny Novgorod remains, whose number of territories has been reduced from 16 to two: Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street and Rozhdestvenskaya Street.

There were no discussions at the meeting. Deputies approved the bill in the second reading, taking into account the proposed amendments.

The law will come into force on May 1, 2024, with the exception of the first paragraph, it will come into force on September 1.

Photo: Nizhny Now news agency