Frequent internet disconnections are preventing pharmacies and stores in Russia from selling goods that require digital marking, such as medicines, dietary supplements (BADs), and beverages. The specific issue arises because the offline verification module used during internet outages only functions for three days. After this period, the system blocks sales of marked products.
This problem is particularly acute in remote settlements where wired internet access is unavailable and mobile internet connectivity has been unreliable for weeks, often due to security measures. Businesses report significant revenue losses, especially during hot weather when customers cannot even purchase water.
Selling marked goods like medicines, BADs, mineral, and children`s water requires scanning the “Chekny Znak” marking code on the packaging. With a stable internet connection, pharmacies perform this check online. An offline module can be downloaded and integrated into the point-of-sale (POS) software for periods without internet. However, this module`s limited three-day functionality is the critical problem in areas with prolonged mobile internet issues. For instance, mobile internet problems in Nizhny Novgorod have lasted two weeks, and in Tula, three weeks.
Pharmacy representatives state that after the three-day limit, the offline module fails to update information, preventing verification and sale of marked goods. Olga Khrutskaya, chairperson of the Novgorod Professional Association of Pharmaceutical Workers, elaborates:
“Internet was down for almost two weeks in one settlement. If the internet doesn`t work for more than three days, the `Chekny Znak` information doesn`t update, even for the offline module, so you can`t verify that the products meet requirements and can be sold. We have these modules everywhere; we check online when the internet works, and offline when it doesn`t. If the internet doesn`t work for more than three days and the information in the offline module hasn`t updated, we can no longer sell medicinal products, medical devices, or BADs from that moment on—they don`t pass verification. The cash register gets blocked, and sales are impossible. You have to wait for the internet to be switched on. If it appears a week or two later, only then can we resume operations.”
The issues are not limited to pharmacies. Dmitry, manager of the `Lyubytino Khutor` countryside club in the Novgorod region, shares that mobile internet problems hinder the sale of marked non-alcoholic beverages, such as juices:
The problem is updating; we can`t update on time. The lack of mobile internet makes it impossible to write off goods. This is mainly drinks, all non-alcoholic products.
Q: Do you have any way to solve this problem?
We cannot solve it at all because there`s no feedback, nothing works. We have to stop trading.
Q: Pharmacies said that with internet, the database updates hourly, then when it`s gone, it lasts for three more days, and after that, nothing goes through. Is it the same for you?
Same here. It`s one problem for everyone. Everything freezes. You want to sell—you scan, but it doesn`t beep, the QR code doesn`t work. People say they`re thirsty, but we can`t even sell water. It`s hot outside, and there`s no other way to write it off.
Business FM contacted “Chekny Znak” for comment. Revaz Yusupov, Deputy CEO of the Center for Prospective Technologies Development (the marking system operator), clarified that pharmacies are not yet obligated to install the local offline module; this requirement becomes mandatory only from September 1st. What should businesses do if there`s no mobile internet?
“Until that time, pharmacies can sell medicines without internet, without switching to offline verification. This will not be considered a violation. Pharmacies and stores scan and submit information to the system. If there`s no connection, the data goes to the system when the internet becomes available. The main thing is to configure everything correctly. Yesterday, we contacted all the mentioned pharmacies, set up the correct configurations, and they resumed normal operations.”
Installing wired internet seems like the most reliable solution. However, extending fiber optics to all remote settlements is challenging, and businesses like pharmacies are present in these areas.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth